Scattered Empire
by Mercury Actual
Summary: The final chapter. Crippled by an abandoned Colonial mine, the Laurier limps to Polaris only to find her stealth functions compromised. The only way to save the future is to take the battered starship into combat with the entire Terran defense grid...
1. Chapter 1 & 2: First Contact

I am not the owner of anything Battlestar Galactica, or the characters on the show. All the Terran characters are my creation.

TIME FRAME: Less than a month after "Lay Down Your Burdens Part II"

TIMELINE: Alternate universe from the show, and in later chapters, a mirror universe...

* * *

_ Five years ago , Earth was irradiated by a race known only as the Dravidiiams. They were enhanced 'supermen' created by the ancestors of man, the Emerians. The Dravidiiams proved too unstable, and were abandoned.  
You cannot play God then wash the hands of the things that you've created. When an experimental technology fell into the wrong hands, the Dravidiiams used it to destroy Emyr, and two thousand years later Earth as well.  
The CSS Laurier, a Canadian starship containing the most senior captain left alive, led a fleet of survivors to Polaris, were they have remained ever since. But when a fleet of ships appears suddenly by the nearby Mutara Nebula, Laurier is sent out to investigate..._

* * *

**Chapters 1 and 2: First Contact  
**

**_Battlestar Pegasus, Astral Body M8_**

"It's not time yet..." complained Lee "Apollo" Adama, rolling over in his bunk. He was right, his tour of duty started in half an hour. And when you pull double the night before, half an hour is a nice long time. "Get up, lazy. We're here." Anastasia Dualla punched him lightly in the head."Ow!" Lee rolled off his bunk. "Where?"   
"Astral body M8." Dee replied.  
Lee shook his head. M8. Right. "I'll be right up."  
Dee turned and left their quarters. The commander's office on the _Pegasus_ was harsher than that aboard the _Galactica_, but he hadn't complained. Some of it was quite nice, the glass table, the display cases. He had left the weapons the late Helena Cain had displayed, simply because he didn't have anything to replace them.  
He hurried to dress. Ever since evacuating from New Caprica, the battlestar had been undermanned and understaffed. He was doing everything required of him and more. He was one of only four bridge officers, Dee was the XO though only a lieutenant.  
The doors on the _Pegasus_ were automatic, and gave him a few extra seconds to spend on his temporal debt, which was growing every day. Back on the _Galactica_, or the 'bucket', the doors had been manual. The _Pegasus_ (the official nick' was the 'beast', but in the last few months it had lost its mystique and was now called the flattering name 'Peggy') was the better battlestar in many respects, but it had been lucky it hadn't been destroyed- _Galactica_ had been more prepared.  
The glass doors to the CIC rotated open, and he stepped in. It was still empty, except for Dee. The battlestar had barely enough people to move, let alone fight. No pilots, no gunners. They would be in a lot of trouble if the Cylons showed up.  
"Anything?" Apollo asked.  
"The Admiral says it will be a little while before they plot the course to Earth." Dualla said. "Baltar's notes got sketchy at this point, and we don't have Gaeta to figure them out anymore." Gaeta was now the President's aide, stuck back on New Caprica.  
But... Earth. The fleet had spent so long reaching it, and then decided to settle on the wintry planet that was called New Caprica. And now Earth was the only hope they had of saving the fleet. They were lucky Baltar had obsessed with charting Earth's location. According to him M8 was near two pulsars which were mentioned in the Scriptures. Apollo didn't know how they were mentioned (he slept through religion instruction after three weeks), or whether Baltar was going on another one of his drug trips again, but he knew by the twin pulsars he was orbiting that they were in the right place.  
Suddenly the DRADIS console beeped. "Contact, coming in CBDR, look at it come!" shouted Lieutenant Hoshi. He scrambled to do the work of two officers as the blip closed... _Fast!_  
Lee jumped to action. "Set condition one throughout the fleet." That was a joke. It didn't matter what condition they were at, they would all be killed if it were the Cylons.

**_Battlestar Galactica CIC_**

Admiral William Adama stared at the DRADIS console hanging over the plot table. The unknown ship had entered weapons range in startling time. Whatever engines were powering her were impressive. It was small, maybe a quarter a size of the _Galactica_, maybe it would be an easy kill in normal times. But with three quarters of the crew missing, he might be able to scrounge enough men to man one turret.  
"Are we ready to jump?" he asked.  
"No sir, most ships are still trying to activate their jump drives." said Karl C. "Helo" Agathon, a previous Raptor ECO, making him natural for the duty of tactical officer of _Galactica_. He was one of few bridge officers left. The battlestar wouldn't be returning fire any time soon.  
"Sir, we're being hailed," said Helo.  
Adama turned swiftly. "What are they saying?"  
"Admiral Torias of the Canadian Starship _Laurier_, sir."  
"Put it through." Adama pushed the strange name to the back of his mind and picked up one of the heavy duty phones. "This is _Galactica_ actual. Admiral Adama."  
"Admiral Torias of the CSS _Laurier_, I've never seen a starship like yours before. We've had a rather interesting journey. I don't want to bore you with the details." He seemed quite nonchalant.  
"I... understand. Where are you headed?"  
"It isn't a question of where, so much as we've come to find you. We detected you close to our homeworld and naturally had to investigate. Perhaps you would prefer to talk about it here, or on your ship, if you don't trust me. We're a little understaffed right now."  
Adama nodded, though he knew Torias couldn't see him. "We'll meet over here. We'll meet you in the port landing bay, the LSO will guide you through it. Adama out." He hung up the phone on the plot table. "We'll be expecting company, have Commander Adama join us." Adama left the empty CIC.

**_Approaching Galactica Port Landing Bay_**

"Shuttle, _Galactica_, hands-on approach, checkers red, call the ball."  
Torias clicked the radio. "_Galactica_, Torias, I have the ball. Coming in. Over."  
The battlestar was an aircraft carrier, that was for sure. Reminded him more of the old United Earth ships instead of the _Calgary_, one of the Greater Terran Alliance's largest aircraft carriers. The _Pegasus_ was more like one of the GTA, but the two battlestars were still very similar in some respects.  
The landing bay was enclosed in one of the pods flanking the main body of the vessel, and ran the whole length with openings at both ends.  
Along the top and bottom of the ship were gun stations, with four turrets arranged in a square. The nose of the ship was constructed of two sections with a sort of valley between them, this contained no less than eight of these turrets. It was a powerful ship, no question.  
The shuttle touched down on the landing pad that was flashing, and they were lowered into the hangar bay, which also spanned the length of the pod. There wasn't much of a reception waiting.  
Torias deactivated the shuttle and Benson opened the door. Rachel Carey, his XO, and his wife and fourth officer Ruiwan Zhan stepped out of the ship.  
All the crew of the ship wore dark blue uniforms with a patch on the side representing the _Galactica_, registry BSG-75. An old man, probably in his early sixties, stepped forward. "I'm Admiral William Adama of the colonial battlestar _Galactica_. Welcome aboard."  
"Thank you admiral." Torias extended his hand and shook Adama's.

**_Admiral's quarters, Galactica_**  
"So where are you from? You seem human."  
It wasn't Torias asking that. Adama was. Torias didn't recognize the ships, but he had assumed them to be another refugee fleet from Earth or one of the GTA colonies.  
"Well, I'm actually from Canada. We had to evacuate the planet because of nuclear attack, I'm surprised you don't know of it. We settled two very nice planets, Homeworlds One and Two. Original names, I know, but they work."  
"We had to evacuate our homeworlds as well, for the very same reasons."  
"Homeworlds? You mean you're not from Earth or one of the GTA colonies?"  
Adama sat up, but his face fell. "Earth? You know of Earth? That's what we're looking for." Clearly he had hoped Earth was still in one piece.  
"I'm from Earth." Torias replied.  
Lee Adama, the admiral's son, jumped in. "You said you were from a place called Canada."  
"It is, er, was a country, a political division, on Earth." said Benson. "We are officially unified, but each country maintains it's original heritage, rights and freedoms under GTA law. Or at least, that's what it was like."  
"We are from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Twelve habitable planets with over thirteen billion people."  
"Kobol?" Benson asked. "Never heard of that."  
"I'll explain later. The Cylons came and destroyed them, much like Earth, I guess. This fleet is all we could save. When we finally escaped pursuit and found the other battlestar, the _Pegasus_, we also found a... habitable planet. We settled it, and called it New Caprica. Things are hard. We have no resources apart from what we brought. Nowhere to start. We can't colonize. We aren't equipped."  
"So why are you here?" asked Zhan.  
"The Cylons showed up again. Everyone in orbit jumped away, everyone on the surface stayed." said Lee.  
"Are you going to get them back?" asked Rachel.  
"We don't have the manpower. The ships can barely jump, the battlestars can't fight. We were trying to find Earth, to get help."  
Torias thought for a second. "We're understaffed too. We can help you set up a computer automation system..."  
"No." said Adama. "The Cylons can infiltrate any network. Shut the ship down."  
"What are these Cylons?" asked Benson. "We were nuked by the Dravidiiams. They could jump as well, but between timelines, using a technology known only as the lienaeid. They were humans, or similar enough to infiltrate our fleet. We can never use our own lienaeids, for fear of attracting the Dravidiiams. They can track our jumps."  
Adama was under the impression that the Cylons had already found Earth. This revelation both relieved and worried him. "The Cylons are similar, but they're machines. We have one on board we can show you."  
"Can we see him?" asked Torias.  
"I don't see why not. Helo can show her to you."  
After the Terrans had left, Adama turned to Apollo. "What do you think?"  
"It's pretty detailed to have been thought up on the spot, but if there is another enemy out there, one even greater than the Cylons, well, we're screwed."

**_Galactica Detention Area_**  
"You don't know who the Cylons are?" said Helo.  
"No. I guess we're pretty lucky, eh?"  
"They destroyed my home. Some of them are just... evil. Some don't even deserve to live." Every sentence was shot out like a bullet. He clearly seemed more open about his feelings towards them.  
Torias could feel something more than hate for the Cylons from the Colonials. They seemed to know something. Something that made the Cylons something more than just evil.  
"I know how you feel, my planet was nuked as well."  
Helo didn't seem to know how to answer that. "Earth got nuked? They were the thirteenth colony of Kobol."  
"Avery," said Benson. "There were fourteen Emerian colonies. Polaris was lost, maybe Atlantis, Bowronis."  
"Bowronis was abandoned."  
"What are you talking about?" asked Helo.  
"Earth, or a part of Earth called Atlantis was a colony of an empire called the Emerian Empire. There might be some connection." There just wasn't any connection Torias could see.  
They entered a room containing what appeared to be a giant cage. The twin phones, one inside, one outside, gave away the function. It was a prison cell. The inside was pretty plush, with a leather armchair and a coffee table, but it was still a cell.  
"You can talk to her by the phone."  
"You don't think of her as a thing then?"  
"No. I love her."  
Torias raised his eyebrows, trying to appear unsurprised. "As long as she isn't the enemy, why not? You said she abandoned the other Cylons." That was as noncommital as he could sound? Torias winced inwardly. "Open the door. I want to talk with her face-to-face."  
Helo did so, a little surprised at both the reaction and the command. "You really haven't seen any Cylons before, have you?"  
Torias stepped into the cell. A pretty young women (he thought immediately of Zhan) sat in the armchair. "Who the hell are you?" she asked.  
Torias raised his hands. "Are all Cylons this polite?"  
She chuckled. "Why would a human call a Cylon polite? You think we're all killing machines anyway. Plugged in and ready to destroy all humanity?" She spoke softly but with venom. Clearly she reacted this way to people she didn't know. Helo had explained that she had been through a lot, and after the _Pegasus_ showed up she became very, very wary of foreign uniforms. Helo hadn't exactly explained what _Pegasus_ had done, but it hadn't been pleasant.  
"Actually, I've never heard of the Cylons until this morning. I'm from Earth, or what's left of it."  
That made the Cylon sit up. "Who are you?"  
"Avery Torias, Admiral. Who are you?"  
"You're asking for my name? Sharon. Sharon Valerii."  
Benson stepped out from behind Torias. "So what is your relation to the Colonials? Where do your people come from?"  
Sharon tried changing the subject. Maybe she was uncomfortable discussing her people. She had betrayed them, after all. "What happened to Earth? I thought you humans destroyed it yourself, but it sounds like you were kicked out.  
Rachel nodded. "Yeah, something like that. If you weren't in a jail cell, we'd give you the tour. But I guess you'll be here for a while."  
"I've been here over a year, I'm used to it."  
"They wouldn't let her out. Afraid she might warm the Cylons. I doubt she will though." said Helo. "She's gained enough trust that she'll be out soon."  
"It wasn't easy betraying my own people," said Sharon.  
"Well, nice meeting you, Sharon, maybe we can get you better quarters." Torias winked. Helo smiled. "Yeah, good luck with that." he said.  
After Torias had left, Helo turned to Sharon. "That wasn't what I expected."  
"Nicest humans I've ever met apart from you. Though I guess they don't know what we did, or who we are. No prejudice."  
"I hope they can get you out of here."  
"I hope so too." Sharon curled up in the chair and tried sleeping.

**_CIC, Galactica  
_**  
"So what do we do?"  
Adama leaned on the plot table. "They seem honest enough."  
Lee, on the _Pegasus_, voiced his dissenting opinion. "What if they are in no shape to help us? They've got their own problems."  
"Why not ask first?" Adama replied.  
"I don't have any problem with their honesty," said Lee. "It's their ignorance. The Cylons will take all of us out if they find us."  
"Need I remind you that we are here because we got ignorant, and they destroyed our homes. We can't persecute others for flaws we share ourselves. Admiral Torias has given me the coordinates of the two Homeworlds. We are going to start Jump prep."  
"What are these Homeworlds going to do for us?"  
"I'm hoping they'll have a military force to assist us. We need the manpower."  
"And if they don't? They've seemed a little too cooperative up to this point. Almost eager to help us. What if we get mired down in a political quagmire?"  
"Then we take as many civilians off the ships and man the battlestars. It's our only option. I'm not leaving behind all those people, not for that long. We were looking for Earth. We needed their help. We've found them after a fashion and we'll take whatever help they will offer. Start your jump prep, Commander. The discussion ends here."  
"I'm with you, Admiral." Lee hung up.  
Adama replaced the phone. "Start Jump prep for Homeworld One!"

**_Laurier Ready Room  
_**  
"I'm still a little shocked. I mean, they're human, but they're not from Earth or any of the Emerian colonies." pondered Torias.  
"Maybe Emyr is this Kobol. Or maybe Kobol and Emyr split off a long time ago. I don't know, it's giving me a headache." said Benson.  
"Maybe the Thirteenth Tribe landed on Earth and found the Emerians in chaos after the attack." Torias continued.  
Zhan took a sip from her glass of tea. "They're connected somehow. The chances of two human species developing together is impossible, if not very improbable."  
"We'll be warping to Homeworld before them then, give a little warning?" said Rachel.  
"The colonials use some variant on the lienaied, they have hyperlight jump capability. It's faster for shorter ranges, but for the time it takes to compute the jumps warp might be faster for long distances." said Benson.  
"We've sent a message ahead of us so they won't be fired on. Let's just hope they don't attract you-know-who. A second Dravidiiam attack would kill them and us." said Torias. "Let's go."

**_Homeworld One, Our Timeline, The Present  
_**  
"Well, we're just a little early." Torias said from the back of the bridge. He was getting a cup of hot chocolate out of the replicator. He'd unwittingly keyed a wrong button, and found out when he tried to take a sip. He scalded his tongue.  
"I still don't see what we're going to do." Benson said when Torias had stopped cursing the computer. "It will take a while to convince Admiralty to let us have a fleet."  
"With the threat posed by the Cylons, we should launch a rescue mission for the Colonials on New Caprica ASAP." said Torias, blowing on the mug.  
"It won't happen that fast." Benson said.  
"I'll use my influence. I'm an admiral, you know. The highest one." Torias tried another sip, carefully this time.  
Benson shook his head. "That doesn't give you free reign. Not by a longshot."  
"We're going to get the Colonials." said Rachel. "Let's not let Adama down. He's counting on us."  
Torias activated the comm. "This is Admiral Torias of the starship _Laurier_ to Orbital Command. Returning from survey mission. Preparing to dock."  
Rachel brought the _Laurier_ into contact with the station, sealing the hatches. "Hard seal confirmed."  
"Let's go meet the captain, shall we?" Torias rose from his seat and left the bridge.  
"You know how they see you, I mean, how many admirals fly around in space, take on missions he could order subordinates to do..." said Benson.  
"Sam, it's fun. Now, the faster we go, the less of a surprise they get." Torias finished his cup and dumped it into the nearest molecular recycling unit.  
Benson and the rest of the Laurier crew went their own ways, while Zhan stayed with Torias. They reported to the captains office on the Station.  
The room was large for starship standards, especially for a warship like the _Laurier_. Torias didn't feel the least bit envious, however. This office was stuck in orbit.  
"Captain, I'd like to warn the defence network about an incoming fleet," he started. "We encountered it out by Mutara and led it here. I want the network to stand down."  
The commander of the orbital station looked up from his laptop. "Yes, Admiral, I'll pass that along. Is this the same fleet you were sent to encounter, and if so, what affiliation? Are they GTA starships? This is just to pass down to Admiralty, you know."  
"No, but they _are_ human. No time to explain here, I'll tell Admiralty when I get there. Tell them I'm coming." He turned to his companions. "Let's get a shuttlepod ready."  
"No. Let's find a viewport first. Then we can see them Jump in." suggested Zhan upon leaving the office. The corridors were quite a bit wider, and the ones ringing the outer rim had the viewports in question. Torias led her to one in the bulkhead. The planet of Homeworld One arched below, with the heavens shining above.  
"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Zhan.  
"Yeah," replied Torias. "Any minute now."  
And then with a thousand flashes, the Colonial Fleet Jumped into view. The two battlestars were in flanking positions, but they just sat there.  
"I think this is going to be an interesting series of events." Torias whispered.

**_Colonial Point, Phoenix, Homeworld One_**

Colonial Point was named for housing the civilian government on Homeworld. They had been created upon landing here, and the site chosen for the view it had over what had become the capitol Phoenix, nestled in the valley below. "This is what we had hoped to accomplish." said Adama. "Maybe it wasn't our technology, but our effort."   
"We were lucky. President Nariyan offered strong leadership. Without him, we might not be here." explained Zhan. Zhan, Adama, and Torias' adopted daughter Catherine were strolling on Colonial Point, on their way to the local fleet headquarters.   
"Our president turned out to be an idiot. Baltar." Adama grunted.  
"What is he like?" asked Zhan, holding Catherine's hand. Catherine, also Chinese by descent, could've fooled anyone into thinking them related. They weren't, but it was shocking sometimes. She had turned thirteen last March. Her parents had died when she was only five, and she had only faint memories of them. She was one of many orphans left after the attacks.  
"He drinks, he procrastinates' he doesn't care about colonization, he just wants the power. Our colony, after a year, was little more than a tent city. He did obsess about Earth, not that it matters."  
"Lovely. By that time we were living out of stone huts, and mining to get more materials. In five years we started installing simple electrical systems powered by radioactive material we found further north. Because this used to be an ancient colony, we had some materials to work with. If this had just been a habitable rock, we wouldn't have the nice civilization we have here." Torias said. He was right about the ancient colony. Small cities had been found further north. It had been abandoned two thousand years earlier, when the Dravidiiams had destroyed their creators, the powerful Emerians. Adama, unknown to the Terrans, was drawing even more similarities between this and the Cylons.  
"You were in the same boat, but did well," mused Adama. "Guess we just came out unlucky."  
"The shuttleport is here." Torias pointed at a stone building overlooking the city. "The main Admiralty is in Aphrika city."  
They walked towards it. It was primitive, but ornate, with stone columns lining the entrance.  
"I must admit, I'm a bit envious," said Adama. "Better than steel piping."  
"Envious about rock? There's tons of it around. We took this blasting for the foundations. Much better than steel, I must admit though. Now if you'll follow me."

**_Mag-lev Train  
En-route to Aphrika_**

"Mum, when will we get there?" Catherine asked.   
"Fifteen minutes, Cathy. Depends whether the roads good, really." Zhan replied.   
"So how will we do this?" Adama asked. "Just up and go at a moments notice?"  
"I'm hoping they'll see you more as humans like us. Otherwise things could get sketchy. I can't guarantee a full fleet mobilization, but I can assure you that _Laurier_ is coming one way or another."  
"Thank you, Admiral." Adama said with sincerity. Even one advanced, heavily armed warship increased the odds. How much all depended on the technology the Terrans possessed.

**_Briefing Room, Admiralty Headquarters_**  
**_Aphrika City_**

Torias stood at the front of the room giving a presentation to the captains in the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have seen mostly inactivity after escaping the Dravidiiams. But I have found more humans in a similar situation. Their home worlds were destroyed by a race known as the Cylons, a race of cybernetic machines. They are reported to be highly dangerous and adept at computer manipulation." Torias motioned towards a large star chart. "The Colonials have a colony on this planet here, called New Caprica." "What I see, Admiral, is the Catspaw Nebula." said Captain Henderson. "We only discovered that a few decades ago. A fairly unremarkable nebula, with one unidentified star."  
"There is a planet about one AU from the star. A large Cylon fleet currently surrounds the planet. We'll need to send a recon mission. I've volunteered to lead this mission. The fleet is to prepare for large scale operations, and to coordinate with the battlestars in resupply efforts. The Colonial battlestars will need some more ammunition and personnel, especially pilots. Fortunately at the moment we seem to have an abundance. Any questions?"  
Captain Goldsworthy blinked in astonishment. "We haven't mobilized this much since the Terran Holocaust. We're looking at two weeks, minimum."  
Henderson seconded. "Are you sure we should go sticking our noses into this?"  
"If we don't, they'll go anyway. Most likely to their deaths. They can't fly, let alone fight." Torias replied.  
"Why? Are there people on the planet?" Henderson asked.  
"Thirty nine thousand people. Trained people that we can integrate into our society with little difficulty."  
"But the logistics! This is almost forty thousand people that we'll just be throwing onto both planets!" Goldsworthy protested.  
Torias changed slides, replacing the star chart with graphs. "Homeworld two is facing a labour shortage constructing the new farms there. They have more than enough housing. They thought more people would go there. A lot stayed here. And the Colonials have been toughing it out on a planet more like Canada than Homeworld Two. It'll seem like paradise to some of them."  
The two captains discussed for a minute. "Okay Torias. We'll give you some ships. Four GTA, your _Laurier_ should go as well. We'll give you some United Earth ships to fill in. The rest is up to you."  
"When do we leave, admiral?" asked Zhan, turning to Torias.  
"As soon as possible, the Colonials need us."

**_Laurier Bridge, Prior to Recon Mission_**

"Are you sure you want to come along?" asked Torias.  
"Face it Torias. I'm full of information." said Sharon.  
Torias narrowed his eyes. "Then why do you have restraints on?"  
"I'm a Cylon, remember?"  
"I thought you said they were letting you out." said Benson.  
"I guess they haven't gotten around to it. I'm here, aren't I? That's a victory in itself. I'm still a Cylon, no matter what I do." persisted Sharon.  
"If an innocent Dravidiiam were to surrender, we wouldn't let him go so easily, but at the moment the Cylons are not our enemies. Yet."  
"You'd better change that line of thought very quickly, Admiral."  
Torias waved his hand. "Yeah, whatever. We'll worry when we get there. You said that you had no hidden programming, I'll trust you." He took off the restraints.  
Sharon rubbed her wrists. She almost smiled. "I'm not used to this..."  
"We brought Helo too, he'll have to deal with you if you go crazy."  
"Engines warmed up and ready to go." said Vikram Kornel at the helm.  
"Mr. Kornel, take us out. Release docking clamps, all back one quarter. Bow thrusters one quarter, stern thrusters at station keeping."  
The _Laurier_ swung around and pointed towards New Caprica, light-years away.  
"Engage FTL."

**_En Route to New Caprica, ETA Two Hours_**

Torias stretched out on his bunk. Catherine, who was by now quite adjusted to travelling on the _Laurier_ was sleeping. Zhan sat on the couch, reading a book she had brought from home. Books were easy to come by, at least new ones. The cruise ships had been quite well stocked, and the printing press had only recently been redeveloped. Typewriters were the most advanced typing machines not on the starships. Paper was easy to make, and quite plentiful. Zhan's book was hers, though. She had brought it in the beginning. Torias had opened it once to find nothing but mandarin. Zhan had been attempting to teach it to him, but he couldn't make heads nor tails of it. He was developing some oral skills with the language, but the symbols were just that: symbols.  
"It was almost too easy to get this to happen," he said.  
"You're the highest ranked officer in the fleet. You can almost do what you want."  
"I have to be careful though."  
Zhan dropped her book on her lap. "Great power, great responsibility, that kind of thing?" She looked at him. "You've said it all before, dear. What does bug me is the fact that they speak English."  
"Nothing wrong with talking, is there? Who cares, we can communicate, we shouldn't look a gift lion in the mouth. Anyway, we should be there soon. Wake me up when we get there."

**_Battlestar Pegasus, Flight Deck_**

"These are Vipers?" asked Rachel, pointing at a Mk.VII.  
"Yeah," said Peter Laird, _Pegasus_ deck chief. "They were almost designed to be fixed. I love 'em. _Galactica_ over there," he motioned with one hand, "They have those Mk.IIs, you'd think they'd never fly. But they're just as dangerous. Just because they're older doesn't rule them out. We found that out when _Pegasus_ turned on the _Galactica_. No actual fighting, but both marks were flying around each other..."  
"The battlestars fought?"  
Laird backtracked fast, not catching the slip. "Uh, yeah. It wasn't an actual, you know, battle, but Cain wanted to execute some of Adama's men because they stopped a rape of the Cylon. They murdered the interrogator by accident, or so Tyrol told me."  
Rachel thought about it. "What is it with you guys and the Cylons, anyway? You treat them like the enemy, but sometimes it seems worse than that."  
"I don't think so." Liard said evasively.  
"Are they're any Viper simulators?" Rachel asked, changing the subject. "I'd like to fly one."  
"Why don't you fly a real Viper? The VIIs have better fly-by-wire than the IIs on _Galactica_, so why don't you suit up?"  
"You'd let me?"  
"How else would we train nuggets? Simulators can only do so much, and if you've got experience you're above a lot of our pilots!" he chuckled.  
"Well, I better not crash it!" Rachel said before heading to the ready room.

**_CSS Laurier, Approaching New Caprica, ETA Ten minutes_**  
**_Deck Two_**

"I can't believe they let me go. I mean, they trust me."  
Helo stepped around a corner. "Sharon, I had hoped the Old Man would do this after a while. But I didn't realize how deep the hatred and distrust went."  
"It's more than that. The other Sharon shot the old man. They'll never forgive me."   
"Then enjoy your freedom here. Maybe this will convince the others..." Helo tried.   
"It won't Helo. Trust me. They can leave me for a year, they can leave me for longer."  
"I'll do what I can." Helo said softly. "We should be going to the bridge now. We'll be arriving at New Caprica."

_**Bridge, CSS Laurier, Near New Caprican Nebula**_

"I guess we're in the right place." Torias stared out the viewport."Yes. Take us in, and be ready." said Sharon. "Take us in cold, Kornel." Torias said.  
The Helm officer, Vikram Kornel, switched to silent running and nosed the ship into the cloud.  
"The cloud should effectively mask our approach," said Sharon.  
"Ms. Valerii, this ship was designed as a stealth ship as well as a gunship. Believe me, with this cloud and our capabilities, they won't know we're here."  
"Port cameras picking something up, sir." said Kornel.  
"What is that, Sharon?" Torias asked.  
"It's a Cylon basestar."  
The ship was massive, but elegant, almost shapely. It reminded Torias of a starfish more than anything. It had two sections with three prongs, joined together at the centre by a centre axis. It was like a stack of pointy pancakes.  
"What kind of weaponry does it have?" asked Torias.  
Sharon thought for a moment. "Three squadrons combined for seventy-two Cylon raiders, assorted heavy raiders docked inside, several banks of anti-ship missiles and some smaller, less accurate antiaircraft point defense guns."  
"What about defensive shields?"  
"What?"  
Torias turned in his chair to look at Sharon. "Every GTA ship now has a shield system. It blocks out weaker attacks and absorbs stronger ones."  
"The Cylons have no shields." said Sharon.  
"That's good. Let's take a closer look at the planet and be on our way. Kornel, keep your hand on the throttle, we might need to warp out of here."  
"Yes, sir. I have an escape course set."  
"All cameras, focus on New Caprica. Down scope." Torias ordered.  
The viewer lowered in front of the captains chair. Torias switched the feed to the lower camera. He saw a planet, but it seemed rather blue and grey, and very unappealing. Several basestars orbited the planet, looking like flying starfish.  
"Well, I don't know what possessed you to colonize that rock, but it shouldn't be too hard, as long no reinforcements come our way."  
Sharon chuckled. "I thought it might be a bad idea settling there."  
"Why don't we just just load them all onto the colonial ships and take them to Homeworld? We need more people, they need better quality of life, and they need a new president." suggested Benson. Torias said nothing, though that was already the idea.  
"Perhaps," said Helo.  
"Well, we've seen enough. I overestimated the sensor capabilities of the Cylon ships. They didn't even notice us. How should we burn our extra time?" said Torias.  
"Burn it? Why not launch early?" asked Helo.  
"The fleet won't be restocked, the battlestars won't be ready, and they need all the time they can get." said Benson.  
"What about Kobol? Where's that?" asked Torias. "Don't they have that ancient city there with the map to Earth?"  
"Admiral, that might not be such a good idea," said Helo. "The Scriptures say that Zeus warned all the humans that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood."  
"Zeus, eh? Well, we had a Zeus on Earth too. A greek god." Torias paused for a second, thinking over the coincidence. Maybe the Emerians and the Thirteen Tribes were separate colonies before the Dravidiiam attacks. Maybe the Thirteenth tribe landed on Earth first, and collapsed before the Emerians got there? It opened some amazing possibilities. " I still want to see Kobol, it might shed some light on this." Torias continued.  
"Shed light on what?" Benson asked,  
"The Emerians and the people from Kobol... Kobolians? Anyway, they can't both be our ancestors, can they? They're clearly from different planets." Torias pointed out.  
Benson shrugged. "Beats me what they did in their spare time. Maybe by seeing the map to Earth we can see some of their technology, architecture... Point out the similarities.  
Helo relented. "All right, but if anyone dies, I hope you take the warning."  
"Maybe we're a special exception. Let's get out of here before they sense us with a mark one eyeball. Engage!"

_**Battlestar Pegasus, Launch Tube**_

Rachel had flown several fighters before, her favourite were the Canadian CS/F-103 starfighters. They're weren't too many of those left. A few on the United Earth carriers and the ones being constructed in the factory ship EU245. If it weren't for the United Earth starships from 2097, designed to evacuate and colonize, humanity might have ended. Now Rachel was sitting in a mk.VII Viper, ready to be shot out the port side of the _Pegasus_. She had done catapult launchings before, and was looking forward to another shot.  
"Viper 101 to Launch control, interval check, positive." said Rachel.  
"Thrusters positive, 101. Good luck. Firing."  
Rachel was snapped back in her seat as the Viper shot out of the side of the battlestar.  
"Wow!" she said when her lungs started working again. "Haha! Very responsive!" Laughing to herself, she started flying head snapping manoeuvers, being careful not to overdo it. Laird said that these things could kill pilots even with the dampening systems.  
After she had had her fun, she lined up with the _Pegasus_ port launch bay. To challenge herself, she rolled over and targeted the underside bay.  
"Viper 101, Control, auto-landing system engaging."  
"Control, 101, request hands-on approach."  
"Roger 101. Auto-landing disengaged. Speed 2-3-0, checkers red, call the ball."  
Rachel lined herself up with the flashing lights on the deck and throttled back. "I have the ball." She brought the Viper up slowly and drifted over the elevator to the hangar deck. With a little difficulty she lowered the Viper onto the deck, lowering her gear. The skids latched on to the metallic deck, and the elevator descended. Flashing red lights framed the trip, and the airlock door closed above her, and the lift lowered into the hangar bay. She opened the canopy and waited for the deck crew.  
"You landed hands-on? You belong on the bucket," said Laird. "We pride ourselves on our advanced landing system, you know."  
"Bucket?" asked Rachel.  
"The _Galactica_. She was about to be converted into museum, being almost forty years old. Old computers, no networks, no auto-landing system. Therefore, the bucket. We're Peggy now."  
"I thought having no networks saved her."  
Laird scratched his head. "Yeah... We keep trying to forget that, I mean, we survived too."  
Rachel hopped out of the cockpit. "We'll take as many of those as you can deliver, we'll just keep providing the resources."

**_In Orbit over Kobol_**

"Are you sure about this?" asked Helo."We're prepared. First aid kit, sensors, rifles. You were attacked by Cylons, aren't they retreating?" Torias asked.  
"Maybe they still have a base. I don't know, I'm not plugged in." said Sharon.  
"No one is accusing you of being 'plugged in'." said Torias. "Now, you said that there was a star map that represented the view from Earth. If so, that means that someone came from Earth to Kobol. Perhaps that's where these things come in. You said that Kobol was abandoned two thousand years ago, well, the Emerian Empire was attacked by the first Dravidiiams then. I'm thinking they're linked."  
"Captain, aerial survey complete, we have several photos." Kornel called from his station.  
"Ms. Valerii, if you will." Torias walked back to the plot table in the back of the bridge.  
"Raptor One, one of our shuttlecraft, was shot down and crashed about here," she pointed, "...landing outside the City of the Gods. We landed in the Galleon Meadow, which, according to legend, was where the last tribe departed on the "great galleon". This was probably a ship of some kind."  
"A ship... Perhaps they were in fact returning to Earth." Torias mused.  
"Maybe. Here, you can see the High Road, a ridge that leads to the Gates of Hera. This is where Athena threw herself after the exodus of mankind."  
"Well, you seem to have the same gods as the Greeks... More proof, I think." said Benson.  
"Whatever. Whoever the Greeks were, they were as delusional as the Colonials." replied Sharon.  
"Delusional?" asked Torias.  
"There is only one true God." Sharon said with confidence.  
"How about we focus on less touchy subjects, alright? I want to get back in one piece." said Benson quickly, breaking the tension.  
"This is the Tomb of Athena. This is where we found the map to Earth, and why we arrived at the Lagoon Nebula."  
"Is that the Mutara Nebula?" asked Torias.  
"Yes, it is." said Helo.  
"That answers that question," said Benson.  
"Let's take a look at this tomb first. Then we see the city. Meteorology has predicted the weather for the next day or so, and it should be moderately cloudy with some scattered showers here and there. So unless you want to get wet, I suggest we go now."  
Helo looked at Sharon, remembering (and not too fondly) the scramble through the rainy, muddy forests of Kobol one year earlier.

**_Admiralty, Aphrika City_**

The term "city" was just to make people feel like they had accomplished something. It would be decades before it started to resemble one. The streets were layed out, and gravel had been compacted to make a very efficient pavement. Cars weren't in use yet, as the factory ships were busy producing tools to stock newer factories that were springing up all over the surface. Buildings were being erected from wood in the nearby forests. Sawmills had been the first industrial centres completed, for obvious reasons. Admiralty was a multilevel building, four stories high. This was one of the tallest buildings, and the inside resembled a World War Two Air Command centre, with primitive light bulbs, powered by a simple electric network from the nearby hydro dam. On the upper level was the briefing room, and several of the senior captains, some from the GTA, some from the United Earth, were hearing Rachel's views on the Colonial Fleet.  
"The battlestars themselves are interesting ships, they are combination carrier/battleships. None of our ships are quite the same. Our carriers aren't as heavily armed while our dreadnoughts are lacking fighter capacity. The rest of the ships appear to be assorted civilian vessels, a few have been outfitted with ship-to-ship missiles, but those are short-range."  
"What about the people? Who is in command?" asked senior captain Henderson.  
"The fleet in general is under the command of admiral William Adama, second in command is at present Aaron Kelly because Karl Agathon is out on the recon mission, _Pegasus_ under the joint command of Lee Adama and Anastasia Dualla."  
"Is Lee Adama related to the admiral?" asked another captain, Goldsworthy.  
"Yes."  
Henderson shifted in his chair. "Now I know Admiral Torias has put his complete support into this, but we have agreed that this is a little rushed. This is probably the fastest mobilization we've had since the Exodus itself, and we haven't come up with any actual battle plan yet."  
"That's why the _Laurier_ was sent out," said Goldsworthy.  
"With the admiral on board! We can't pass anything by him until he returns, and if something were to happen..." Henderson started.  
"Like what?" asked Goldsworthy.  
"I don't know, something bad."  
Captain McCallum looked over at Rachel. "You might as well leave, commander. They'll be at this for who knows how long." He smiled before launching into the argument himself.  
Rachel left the conference room.

_**Battlestar Galactica, Admirals Quarters**_

"They seem willing enough." Adama exhaled softly. "You think we can trust them?" "We were looking for them. Now we find them, and-" Adama cut Lee off. "Two thirds of the crew have to be replenished. Two thirds! If we can't trust them, they could take over the ship."   
"Why, why would they do that?" Adama drank from a glass of water.  
"You never know. Desperate people do desperate things. Let's just hope they don't put someone in to displace the chain of command."   
"I don't think they have any reason to do that. Besides, there isn't a transfer you haven't approved."   
"Don't be so sure. Something might go wrong, and then we'll be really screwed. We can't even defend ourselves. I say we should be cautious. Besides, not so long ago you were urging caution."  
"I've seen what they've been doing to help us. Because I don't think that we should question others' generosity. We can't throw this away! With the firepower they have we could launch a counterattack on the Cylons one day!"  
Adama looked sharply at him. "For the time being, though, we will focus on the mission at hand and not get carried away. That will be all, commander."

_**The Gates Of Hera, Kobol**_

"Over here!" cried Sharon. Two stone pillars framed an arched doorway bored into the side of the mountain. The door was ajar. "This certainly does look old," said Benson. He scanned it with his palm scanner, noting the date.  
"Look like any Terran ruins?" asked Torias.  
"They look slightly Greek, but I can't be sure without any comparison. They could be Carthaginian for all I know." Benson folded up his scanner.  
Inside was a large circular room with broken statues and podiums lining the walls.  
"These seem to represent the twelve zodiacal symbols. Virgo, Leo, Ares..." Benson started walking around the room, naming each stature as he passed it. Torias didn't really pay attention to him.  
"Those are also the names of the original colonies," said Helo, intrigued that Benson knew the names by heart.  
Sharon stepped up to a statue of an archer. A jewelled arrow lay at his feet. "The Arrow of Apollo," said Helo. "Starbuck went through all that trouble and left it here."  
"Starbuck?" inquired Torias.  
"Kara Thrace. Used to be a Viper pilot on Galactica. Probably the best." Helo said, admiring the Arrow.  
"So, what is this Arrow supposed to do?" asked Benson.  
"Open the Tomb of Athena." said Sharon.  
"This is the Tomb of Athena. Isn't it?" Torias wasn't so sure anymore.  
"No. The tomb is below us. This is more like... The lobby." Sharon picked up the Arrow. "Get ready."  
She placed it on the bow of Sagittarius. With a gust of wind and a slam, they were plunged into darkness.  
"I want to check out now." said Benson.

* * *

I would appreciate some constructive criticism (this is my first work), especially on the wooden characters. I hope things aren't _too _fast or unrealistic. If there are any questions, concerns, Toasters, or fuzzy doorknobs just leave a message. 

Next Chapter: Torias and the landing party on Kobol theorize on where the Colonials really came from while the Colonial Fleet prepares the imminent attack. After the _Laurier_ returns the Terrans and the Colonials launch the largest assault of the Cylon war, completely suprising the Cylons. On the way _Laurier_ recieves an automatic distress signal from a dead Colonial ship...


	2. Chapter 3: Twilight

_All this has happened before, and all this will happen again_

_-Colonial Scripture, Book of Pythia_**  
**

**CHAPTER 3: Twilight**

**_Battlestar Galactica, CIC_**

Adama picked up the phone, linking him to the CIC aboard Pegasus, and flipped open the roster."Okay, commander, we've been assigned two thousand crewman from the United Earth ships. Pilots, mechanics, the works."  
"One thousand each?" asked Apollo, somewhere on _Pegasus_.  
"My thoughts exactly," Adama replied. This first shipment would lift the fleet's personnel problems from a ghost fleet to impossibly understaffed. That he'd gotten this far Adama didn't question: he'd been lucky, nothing more. "The raw materials we've been getting from the surface have boosted our ammunition output by sixty percent. We're almost fully stocked. We've started shipping surplus to the _Aroniya_, one of their transport ships. How is Viper production?"  
"We've turned out almost twenty fighters in the last few days. With some extra manpower, we could turn out a few more squadrons in the next few weeks."  
Adama made some notes. "Anything else?"  
"Things being the way they are, we're holding together. Think I'd rather be on Picon right now."  
"Why Picon?" Adama asked. Apollo had been born and raised on Caprica.  
"I don't know if you've looked at the calendar, but forty-two years ago on this day the Colonial forces stood down to condition three for the first time since the start of the first Cylon war."  
"So it is..." Adama said. Picon, being home to Fleet Headquarters (or what was left of them) used to have a sort of holiday on this day. In hindsight the celebration seemed a bit premature, considering that the Cylons never considered the war over. Didn't they? "Well, if that's all commander, you've got some paperwork to do. Adama out." Adama hung up the phone. "Draydon, send this to Admiralty on the surface." Adama handed a clipboard to the crewman (one of the new Terran crewmen) and walked out of CIC. With so little going on, he found himself increasingly bored. He wished Torias would get back... No use worrying about it though. He shook his head. He only hoped that things continued to be so friendly, and the Terrans didn't start to second guess. Nothing seemed so easy anymore.

**_The Tomb Of Athena, Kobol_**

"Anybody got a light?" Torias asked. After the bright light from the door of the tomb had gone out the darkness seemed opressive."Avery, there _is_ light." Benson said.  
Sure enough, when Torias let his eyes adjust, the room came into view. The lighting was minimal, but present.  
But the room itself... Somehow it had changed. Replacing the broken statues were standing stones, and in the sky...  
"Sam, why are we outside? It's sunny, or was sunny..." Torias took a deep breath. The air was cool, like evening, but there was staleness in it. "Are we still on Kobol, or a different part of it?  
Benson craned his neck to look at the sky. "Avery. We're on Earth. Not only that we're in the Northern hemisphere."  
"Well, I guess that proves we're still on Kobol," Torias said.  
Helo, who had been staring at the standing stones, entered the conversation. "What sense does that make?"  
"If this had been Earth, we would have been killed by the atomic radiation. But there's something else about these rocks I can't quite place..."  
"If it reminds me of one thing, it's Stonehenge. Only less elaborate." said Benson. The rocks were arranged in the same fashion, but the tops weren't covered by slabs of horizontal rock the way the English monument was. And Stonehenge didn't have crystals in the shape on constellations adorning the stones.  
"The mystery deepens." Torias said. "But you're right. The ground is fashioned exactly like it was in England." The ground in question was formed into a dike, with a valley on concentric embankment circling the structure.  
"Man didn't come from Kobol. They came from Earth." Torias concluded.  
Benson shook his head. "That doesn't include the Emerians or the Dravidiiam wars.  
"Then let's head back to the ship and consult the Emerian database. Pull something up. Sharon!" torias shouted.  
Helo looked around. "She was here a second ago."  
"The exit's over here, if you're wondering."  
Everyone looked around suddenly. Sharon stepped out from behind one of the rocks.  
Behind it was a tunnel leading up. It exited the mountain, and a path curved away down the rock. After the twilight of the Terran evening the Kobol sun was blinding.  
After shielding his eyes from the glare and adjusting back, Torias started down towards the shuttlecraft.

**_Battlestar Pegasus, Launch Tube, Starboard Flight Pod_**

Rachel flashed a thumbs-up to the launch officer, another Terran. Her head snapped back from the acceleration and she was out, in formation with the other forty-odd Vipers the Pegasus had in her starboard pod. Vipers were also scrambling from the port pod, while older Vipers from Galactica scrambled from both the port pod and newly restored starboard pod. It had been a rather battered looking museum, just like the USS _Intrepid_ in New York. The carrier was probably sitting on the bottom of the river now, but the comparison was accurate. Allthe surviving exhibits were now on diplay on the surface of Homeworld One.  
Tracer rounds streaked accross the sky between the battlestars and the dreadnaughts, which were in turn covering the more lightly defended Terran carriers. Juggernaughts and destroyers flanked out.  
Rachel had taken up new duties as an officer on the Pegasus, but as highly strung pilots were a rare commodity, every single one was being used (an excuse she herself had come up with). Personally she preferred it to command. She was actually doing something that, she considered, was fun.  
"Showboat, execute scenario Baker's Run and finish with Attack pattern Omega-Three. Blue wing, form up on Showboat, Red wing, form up on me. Tracers on minimum, open ranks."  
The sky seemed choked with Vipers and Canadian 103s. The Terran ships were proving quite adept with their more advanced targeting computers, and many Vipers were flying back to _Pegasus, _officially 'destroyed'. In fact, they were so good Rachel got clipped in the middle of Omega-Three. "Blast it, Showboat, I've been hit, returning to Peggy. Out."  
Rachel once again showed off, landing hands on for the third time.  
"That was fun!" Rachel said upon exiting the Viper VII. Her fellow pilots, most of them nuggets who had been hit by the hyper-accurate Terran flak clouds, flashed thumbs up.  
Laird stopped Rachel before she left for the lockers to stow her flight gear. "When you've stowed your stuff, the commander would like to see you in his quarters." Apollo had been busy approving transfers and equipment lists, so he'd handed off command to Dualla for the duration of the scenario.  
Rachel nodded. "Thanks."  
She headed to Commander Adama's cabin after changing. Her uniform was now a strange combination of Colonial and Terran. The uniform jacket and badges were the same as a standard Colonial uniforms, but she had GTA rank pins, badges, and uniform tunic, but that wasn't visible. She could easily change jackets to appear as an officer in the Canadian Fleet.  
She strode through the black metal corridors of the _Pegasus_, much smaller and taller than those aboard _Galactica_ yet darker than the bright blue corridors of the _Laurier_. Finding the Commander's quarters was easier than the first time, but this ship was much larger than her previous one. The doors parted with a hiss to allow her entrance.  
"Afternoon, Commander. Take a seat." said Apollo, scribbling furiously on yet another transfer request. The IN folder on his desk was stacked like three volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.  
Rachel had only been to Apollo's cabin a few times, and found it very much in tune with the dark feeling on the ship. Adama had done what he could to cheer the place up, but despite the lived-in feel of books and papers strewn on the tables, cushions thrown on metal chairs, and rugs on the floor, it was still... Clean. The shelves were glass, and an assortment of antique weapons graced on wall. Some standalone lamps softened the lighting, but it was still generally greenish fluorescent. With some pictures hiding the bare metal walls, it could be called home.  
"So, Commander Carey, the war game was satisfactory." started Apollo.  
"It was fun, sir."  
"Enjoy the games while you can, Commander. I've seen a lot of kids who didn't come back." Rachel had seen the list of pilots in the _Pegasus_ ready room. How many _Galactica_ had was still beyond her. She knew Apollo had been CAG aboard _Galactica_ for a few months after the Holocaust, and knew all about the _Olympic Carrier._ That was a lot for one man to carry.  
"Do you have any suggestions we could use to improve our capabilities?" Apollo asked.  
"Tactically you have similar ideas and execute them well with what you have. However, your fighters only have a limited amount of ammunition, the recoil from kinetic energy weapons affects handling and once fired the projectile remains, posing hazards to other allied craft. We have encountered the same problems with the United Earth ships. We have developed energy emitters that can be integrated with your existing systems, taking months off overhaul. We could have your main guns fitted in a week."  
Adama considered it. "We have the production facilities for constructing ammunition, but with these new weapons we could convert these for more Viper production, or other uses."  
"That's what Admiralty believes, sir."  
"Very well, er, Commander? Your ranks are different from ours." The Terran forces used a more navalized approach towards ranks, with captains in command and commanders subordinate. Clearly the Colonials used a more Army based style.  
"Yes: Commander." Rachel replied.  
"Ok, for your tour of duty aboard this ship I'll refer to you as Major. Pass on the recommendations to Admiral Adama. So if you'll excuse me I've got some homework to do." Apollo returned to his stack of papers, and Rachel left the room.

**_CSS Laurier, Mess Hall_**

"How's it coming?" Torias asked Benson. Benson didn't look up from his laptop. "Slowly. There's a lot of unrelated data. There is no direct reference to Kobol, but there is a strange section... Here," Benson pointed at the screen. "It says that representatives of each province of Emyr travelled to Atlantis for a conference on creating the Dravidiiams." "How many provinces were there?" Torias asked, knowing the answer.  
"Thirteen." Benson said. "Atlantis was attacked, and subsequently destroyed, but we didn't descend from the remainders of the colony. The representatives from all thirteen provinces escaped on a fleet, but I found out something else."  
"What?"  
"The ruins on that planet were constructed one thousand nine hundred years ago. One hundred years after the Dravidiiam  
Wars." Benson pointed at the screen. "They settled Kobol after running from the Dravidiiams, just like the Colonials when they escaped their colonies, and settled New Caprica. The Colonial scripture predicts this. 'All this happened before, and all this will happen again'."  
Torias listed the situation on one hand. "Man creates servant, servant destroys man, man escapes servant, creates new servant... Lather, rinse, and repeat."  
"That's about the long and short of it." Benson said. "I've discussed this with Helo and Sharon. Sharon's quite a little computer, she's memorized large portions of the scriptures. That brings me to my next point..."  
"What now?" Torias asked.  
"Why haven't we contacted the Cylons yet?"  
"What?! You heard Adama, they don't reason, or talk!"  
"Do you know that? Do you know how they think? You're just taking his word for it-"  
"And possibly saving lives that could be endangered by such an envoy!" Torias hotly interrupted.  
"This isn't about the Cylons, is it?" Benson theorized.  
"What are you talking about?"  
"This is revenge, isn't it? Dravidiiams smashed your home, so you go and take it out on the next best thing,"  
"They destroyed a civilization-"  
"Avery! I understand, it's the human thing to do." Benson said.  
"So what do you think we should do? We send a peace envoy, there's no surprise anymore. They're ready for us!"  
Benson thought for a second. "The Colonials send an envoy. They bring along one of our people for observation, one of the captains from Admiralty. The Cylons can't tell one human will be one of ours, and for all they know we found another colonial warship. The vessel we send would be unarmed but have one of our computers for FTL calculations. I suggest the colonial liner _Twilight."_  
"You've got this all planned out, don't you?" Torias said. "How long have you been planning this?"  
"Ever since I found out who the Cylons were, and quite frankly, your reaction was textbook. You want revenge but aren't stupid enough to hit the Dravidiiams. And that is why we are standing here talking instead of being blown to pieces five and a half years ago."  
"We should also put a Cylon expert on board. Sharon should go along." Torias said pensively.  
Benson grinned. "Now you're talking!"  
The door to the mess hall hissed open opened, allowing Zhan and Helo entrance. They were both looking for Torias, and looked like something urgent.  
"Captain," Helo started, "We've recieved a distress call."  
"Got any more info?" Torias asked.  
"Helo says it's a Colonial autodistress beacon, one of the newer models. There's an unmanned Colonial warship out there."  
"Any ID? Registry numbers, battlestar groups?"  
Zhan nodded. "Battlestar _Mercury_, BSG-65."  
"How long will it take us to reach there?" Torias asked Helo.  
"At top speed, thirty minutes."  
"Too long, we've got a shedule to keep. Sam!" Torias ordered. "Take a shuttlecraft to inspect the ship and salvage her. If the beacon's going she's got power, so it shouldn't be too hard. As for us, we're heading back. Helo, send a message ahead, message reads 'ready colonial liner _Twilight_ for immediate departure.' That will be all."

**_Colonial Point, Phoenix, Homeworld One_**

President Nariyan sat behind his oak desk, reviewing his policy in the aftermath of his reelction a year prior. The arrival of the Colonial fleet required a new agenda, especially in the face of the coming rescue operation. He had given the go-ahead on the envoy mission Admiral Torias had suggested two hours ago, the mission itself put his mind to rest. He wasn't as comfortable with quick military action as the military itself was. Still, providing how the envoy mission went, he was still willing to approve the rescue mission if the need arose.  
His train of thought was rudely derailed when the door to his office opened. He opened his mouth, ready to tell his secretary off, only to find his chief of security, Major Bret Thompson, rushing in. Behind him were two marines, guarding the door.  
"Mr. President, we have a situation. Five minutes ago an unidetified starfighter, listed by Colonial observers who spotted it as a 'Raider', jumped in and out of the system. Sensors report that it scanned the Fleet, but did not scan any of our ships or the surface. NAOC is waiting to take you airborne."  
Nariyan had gone through enough drills to know what to do. It was remarkably efficient, for he was airborne on NAOC less than ten minutes. The modyfied shuttlecraft was as large as a prewar Boeing 845 and just as confined to the atmosphere. The operations centre on board could target a fuision strike anywhere on the planet in less than five minutes.  
The basestar hadn't arrived yet, but if it did, they would be ready.

* * *


	3. Chapter 4: Into The Breach

_And the peacekeeper was consumed by hate, for the foe was blinded by rage_

_-Colonial Scripture, book of Skammander_**  
**

**CHAPTER 4: ...Into The Breach  
**

**_Intersun Liner Twilight, Crew Compartment_  
**

The system of Polaris had been strangely quiet for the past few days. After the scare with the marauding Raider no Cylon ships had approached Polaris. Sharon thought they were allowing the Fleet to come to them, perhaps poor conditions on New Caprica were stretching their resources. The president stood down to DEFCON 2 and life seemed to return to normal, albeit with a heightened alert. The president was still in an undisclosed location, most likely in the Shorian Cordillera, hidden from nuclear attack.

There was one happy occasion that had happened after the return. Karl C. Agathon and Sharon Valerii were married on the surface of Homeworld One.

It was now two days after that had happened, but Sharon Agathon was already preparing to depart on the unannounced envoy mission. Helo had requested to join her, but had been turned down by Admiral Adama. He was needed on _Galactica,_ and he had already been on a trip. Thankfully nobody had died on Kobol, though perhaps the 'price in blood' had been the accident in Engineering after they had left. One of the Ensigns had cut his leg open with a wire cutter, disgorging quite a bit of blood. It had been tended to easily enough, and he was back at work with only the trace of a scar.

What Sharon was actually supposed to do was still beyond her. The ship would be departing soon, once Captain Goldsworthy, the observer for the Terrans, boarded. The computers had been installed easily enough, and they were beauties she was sure the Cylons could call one of their own. She had packed up her belongings (which were actually taken from the previous Sharon's locker on _Galactica._) Once that was done, she walked out ('Freely', she kept saying to herself, 'I'm free') and headed towards the port airlock.

Her timing was impeccable (as usual) and she was just in time to see the Canadian shuttle docking with the ship. The airlock rolled open, and Micheal Goldsworthy climbed into the corridor.

"Good afternoon, Captain," Sharon said. Goldsworthy was managing well with his suitcase, and the airlock sealed behind them.

"My, this place is plush. How are you managing, Ms. Val- Agathon," he caught the slip and corrected himself. He didn't make a big deal out of it, and Sharon thought he hoped she missed it. That was fine by her.

"I'm still a little confused about the mission," she admitted. "I know it's a sort of first contact, but how do we get close enough without being blown to pieces?"

"Walk with me," he gestured. They started slowly towards the operations deck, Goldsworthy leading the way. "That's the million dollar question, Ms. Agathon, and if we knew for sure this would be a lot easier." Sharon had heard mention that a dollar was a unit of currency the Canadians and Americans had used on Earth. It had taken root on both worlds of Polaris, being accepted by all members of all the surviving nations.

Goldsworthy continued, as they climbed a staircase to the control room. "Our plan is to transmit a message on one of your wireless sets, they can't read ours any more than you can. When we first contacted your starship we had to improvise a radio transmitter, but yours will do." He took another breath before continuing, "If all goes well, we strike up wireless dialogue. If they open fire, well, we have installed a weak shield system on board, give us enough time to Jump but not so they'll notice it,"

"Why is that a problem?"

"Think about it. It might give them time to adapt. We chose one of your ships for the same reason: we don't want to give away tactical information. Anyway, your job is to keep us informed of possible action the Cyons can and do take, military and diplomatically. None of us have experience in this sort of thing, so you're our best bet." He stopped talking as he aproached the pilot of the ship. "Pilot, you now have permission to request clearence for Jump. Boatswain, take this below!" He gave his suitcase to the boatswain by the door. "Ms. Agathon, unless you want to stay, you can below as well."

**_New Caprica City, New Caprica_**

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace was hiding. As strange as that may sound.

The logic was not lost on Saul Tigh. This was his tent, after all. The tent creaked under the weight of the snow outside.

Life on New Caprica had never been, well, peachy. If it wasn't windy it was dark, and the rain that did water the crops was that weak, miserable drizzle that made one love irrigation and wish it never rained. With the low rainfall, one might expect conditions to be tolerable. Many people had.

And then winter came.

The rainfall almost tripled, as wind currents- now so frigid they clung to the ground- changed, bringing tons of snow down on the tent city. The Cylons had cleared the main public areas, but the 'suburbs' remained snowed in. It had been up to the colonists to excavate themselves. To put it simply, New Caprica sucked.

And Starbuck would have loved it if the Cylons weren't hunting for her. It was that idiotic model she had... questioned aboard the _Gemenon Traveller (_now parked in the shipyards on the other side of the city). It had strange ideas about love, that's for sure. It just couldn't take no for an answer. Even forcefully. She had stuck the knife in (and twisted it) before running to the last place they would expect her. Here.

"How long are you going to stay here?" Tigh growled. "I've got run a resistance, not sit here and babysit you."

"You can't let him find me. You can't."

Tigh chuckled. "That's what you think. You're one person. I could be saving thirty thousand. Thrace, you know what my choice would be. You're damned lucky I've hung on this long. You heard about the explosion..."

Starbuck had heard, both physically and through the rumour mill. Suicide bomber. One of her fellow pilots, but she couldn't find out which one. Tigh was serious. Dead serious.

"Where's Ellen?" Thrace asked, pulling a blanket closer around her. Tents weren't known for central heating.

"If you hadn't been snoring away, you'd know she's gone to get more rations. If you don't start starving, the toasters will start to suspect something. And if that happens, don't look to me to save you."

That wasn't something Starbuck looked forward to. She was getting tired of sparring with the old XO, though.

Ellen Tigh slipped into the tent, but kept her coat on. "They cut rations again! I don't know how long we can survive like this. They just have no-"

"Decency? Humanity? You're damn right they don't. But that does leave us in a pretty pickle." Tigh looked at Starbuck.

Ellen noticed the look. "Saul, we can't do that! That would make us worse than the Cylons!"

"Oh save me from this ethical crap! We have one purpose here. Rid this rock of every toaster SOB we can. If you don't like it, why don't you go join the NCP. They love recruits."

Tigh silenced, his point hammered home. The sad part was, he was right. To win, ethics would be the first thing to go.

**_Colonial Liner Twilight, Entering New Caprica Cloud_**

Sharon fought down the momentary sense of dizziness after the jump. Another thing the Canadian computer had done was double the range of even the civilian ship. She had only ever felt this after jumping in a Cylon Heavy Raider, from Caprica all the way to Kobol. This wasn't as bad.

"Ms. Agathon, would you please report to the bridge." the comm system hissed.

Sharon rolled off the cot and activated the wall speaker. "On my way."

The operations deck, understandably, was quite busy. The front windows showed a vast mist, with New Caprica shining like a dull grey gemstone. Several white spots orbited, at least four. Those were the basestars in orbit. They were far enough away for the _Twilight_ to send its message.

"Message transmitting..." the comm officer reported.

"Now we wait," Goldsworthy conccured. "What would standard procedure be now, Ms. Agathon?"

"They would analyze the signal, but with their recent change of heart there are two ways they could answer. Either by wireless, or by guided missile. Before they would have just destroyed us, civilian or not." Sharon sincerely hoped they had changed.

"Two basestars have broken orbit. Estimated time to intercept... Two minutes. Weapons range in sixty second... Mark. Two other basestars are also breaking orbit, but heading away."

Those sixty seconds were the longest Sharon had ever encountered. But they turned into second worst when the conn officer shouted "They're launching nukes!"

The Cylons suspected a trap! They must expect Adama and both battlestars in range, that's what the two other basestars were doing. Adama had pulled the civilian decoy trick so much... He may not have been able to forsee this problem when he used the tactic, but Sharon should have though about it, stopped the mission, saved the crew... The shield system could not withstand a nuke!

She was right. How would Helo react to having his wife blown to pieces? That was her last thought.

**_Cylon Resurrection Facility, New Caprica_**

Of course the first building the Cylons had built was a fort complex with guard towers, jail cells, and a resurrecton facility. Despite their pledge to help the Colonials they helped themselves. But there was one colonial they helped...

Clouds of white mist floated, blurry shapes appeared as whispers reached her ears...

She opened her eyes and breathed a deep breath. It felt like her first... And her left arm didn't quite work. She was floating in a tank filled with the nutrient fluid that preserved and maintained an unoccupied Cylon body in absence of food. But fragile as she felt, she wasn't alone.

"Hello, little sister," a Six model of Cylon said. "You must have had quite an accident." Clearly this Six didn't know who she was. Thankfully. Sharon decided to play along.

"I don't remember what happened, where am I?" Sharon said, faking confusion. She really did remember getting atomized, and would rather forget. She had to get back to Polaris, and her new husband. He would be worried sick.

"You're with us. We're here to help," said a Three behind Six, seeing Sharon's face grow concerned.

"We're here to help all of our brethren," said Six

"Because we love you,"

Sharon turned her head to see another Eight. Eight smiled.

* * *

I'm trying this format. I hope it's easier to read. 


	4. Chapter 5: Penumbra

CHAPTER 5: Penumbra

**_Cochrane Middle School, Aphrika City, Homeworld One  
Parent-Teacher Interview Night  
_**

The work was not one of the best Torias had ever seen. He knew Catherine wasn't an artist, and that reflected the mark she had gotten. But he remembered suggesting that markers were not good to colour with.

"You used markers, Cathy. I said they wouldn't work well."

"It's all I had at the time." she admitted.

"You could have replicated some coloured pencils, or paint,"

Catherine crossed her arms. "Just admit it Dad, I'm not an artist!"

"Yeah, but couldn't you have tried just a _little_ harder..." He put the paper down. Just in time to prevent a rant from his daughter about how hard she did try and how the system promoted people that already had skill and left out all who didn't, Torias said "What's the next class we have to see?"

"My English class is the last one." She uncrossed her arms "Is Yǎng Mǔ even coming?" she asked, using the Mandarin word for adoptive mother. She scattered words from the language through her oral English, betraying her origins. Zhan had no trouble following her, but Catherine sometimes ventured beyond Torias' limited vocabulary. He really felt lost when they dropped English entirely, and he had to sneak off to find something to keep him looking like an idiot.

"She's got to work too, you know. The Envoy mission sent back its first report thirty minutes ago. Now we find out whether they're coming back or talking with the Cylons."

"I though Mr. Adama said that the Cylons couldn't be trusted?" Catherine asked.

"I know, but when my science officer raised the question of why we weren't talking,"

"Didn't they blow up a civilization?" Catherine asked, raising an eyebrow. "They don't sound like nice people. That's why we're not talking."

"They aren't people, Cathy. But we should still give them a chance, right? Everyone should be treated equally."

"I don't know. But if they're the enemies of the Colonials, and the Colonials are our friends, doesn't that make them our enemies?"

Torias was about to answer when his communicator vibrated. "Hang on, Cathy." He flipped it open. "Yeah, Torias here."

It was Zhan onboard the Australian battlecruiser _Renown, _which was being used as a communications relay for _Twilight._ "Avery, there's been no news from the _Twilight..." _Torias could sense a 'but...' statement coming up, "But we've detected an automated distress call. They've either been disabled or destroyed. The Cylons can't seem to detect subspace or superspatial radio transmissions. We've detected both the beacon and the backup."

"I suppose Admiral Adama wants to speak to me," Torias said slowly.

"You could say that. How's Catherine?"

"The art isn't so hot but the math was really good." Torias looked over to see Catherine talking to a friend of hers. They seemed completely unaware of him, which was fine for now.

"I'm glad about the math," Zhan said with more than a hint of pride. "Adama's on _Galactica._ And I don't know how he'll react to losing his best source of intelligence."

"We'll find out, won't we?" Torias said. "Love you, and good luck." He closed the communicator. "Catherine, we've got to go."

"Oh, not again? Something on the ship?" she asked as she rushed over.

"No, we're going to _Galactica_ this time."

That cheered her up a bit. "She's bigger than the _Laurier,_ isn't she? Can we see the Viper bay? Her weapons systems?"

**_Battlestar Galactica, Starboard Landing Bay_**

The Raptor had picked them up from the Orbital Station and ferried them to the battlestar. Catherine hadn't stopped staring at every detail of the little shuttle, or at the _Pegasus_ as she drifted by. This reverie turned into excitement as the Raptor was recovered and lowered into the recently reconstructed Starboard Bay.

Torias flashed his ID to the Marine on guard duty and was allowed to pass. After tugging Catherine to get her to follow him, Torias proceeded up the ladders to the next deck. He had the route to Adama's quarters memorized from the Port pod, but they hadn't landed in the Starboard pod before. He had to ask a crewman for directions before he finally arrived at the right hatch.

"Come in," he heard from inside when he knocked. He proceeded to do so.

Zhan was sitting in front of Adama's desk. She turned to see him enter.

"Admiral Torias," Adama said. "I assume you've recieved word of the _Twilight_"

"Unfortunatly I have."

Adama didn't burst out in an angry tirade. He simply sighed. "Perhaps in the future there can be more... trust, between us. I am not lying or exaggerating when I say we warned you. Nobody except Mrs. Agathon has more experience with the Cylons than I do. But now one of my ships has been destroyed, its crew lost and my best source of intelligence is in enemy hands."

"Is there a chance she wasn't recognized? Even if the Cylons have a way of telling individuals of each model apart do all Cylons know about Sharon Agathon?"

Adama looked up sharply. "I should be thankful for the chance of her being alive. But that doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is that the Cylons know we are still here. We need to launch Zero Hour as soon as humanly possible. And remember, Admiral. If we are to survive as a species, we need to do things we wouldn't ordinarily do. Ethics and Cylons do not go together. Remember that, and we'll all get through this. That will be all."

"Admiral," Torias said. "The situation for you has changed. On your starships, you had the luxury of letting a little of your humanity slip away in an effort to survive. But here we have the luxury of time, and we can handle any attack should it occur."

Adama stood up and stared Torias down. "Admiral, I don't doubt your confidence, but the Cylons have a way of making us _all_ look like idiots. You can handle their starships and war machine, but when you collapse from infiltration think back to this day." His voice never grew louder, but the intensity did all the shouting. "If we are to defeat the Cylons you need our experience and we need your technology and manpower. And if we can cooperate in this manner we need more trust than I've seen so far."

Torias backed down. "It hasn't been easy for us. We've always been gung-ho for peaceful exploration, but when we find other races they turn around and bite us in the ass unless we club them into submission first. We think we're all astronauts on some kind of Star Trek, but for all the infinite space there is, there just isn't enough for all of us."

Adama sat down, and Torias saw the ghost of a smile. "Welcome to the big leagues."

**_Laurier Bridge, Six Hours to Zero Hour_**

Torias handed the authorization form back to the engineer on the bridge. The ship hadn't seen real combat for years, and he wanted to make sure she was in top condition. He had authorized both for the paser emitters to be overhauled and the torpedo tubes cleaned. He had the replicators give them a full stock of fuision torpedoes. The Cylons were in for a surprise.

The dispatch number had been reviewed. Five GTA ships: _Laurier, Renown, Cyclone, Hornet, _and the British Carrier _Voltaic. _

They were being joined by four United Earth ships. EU385, a carrier battleship, EU336, an arsenal ship, and two battlecruisers, EU365 and EU375. The United Earth was an alternate reality discovered by Torias and the Earth evacuation fleet. In this timeline, set in 2097, Earth had already been horribly attacked, rendered little more than a nuclear wasteland. Humanity clung on, with technology stolen from the Dravidiiams integrated itto existing technology. They had massed a fleet to destroy the Dravidiiam base, but they were too late. They were sealed in their timeline, slowly dying out. That Earth had been entirely evacuated, and their industrial ships had been the reason colonization of Polaris had succeeded.

Now he was doing the same thing again, only in his own timeline.

"Helm reconfigured. The ship is ready to depart." said Jack Woodman. He was another refugee from another timeline. Canada, in 1961, had held up valiantly to Dravidiiam air assaults for almost a year. Woodman had been an Arrow pilot with the RCAF, and had test flown the aircraft with Avro Canada. He flew the _Laurier_ like an oversized fighter.

"Comm, get me a channel with _Galactica,"_ Torias ordered. When the channel was open, he picked up a wireless handset, firewalled against Cylon intrusion. He got the XO on duty. Helo must have been having some success in dealing with Sharon's loss. "Major, with your permission I'd like to move Zero Hour up four hours. Our Helm reconfiguration took less time than we expected, and we are only waiting for a weapons overhaul."

"I have clearance from Admiral Adama to move up Zero Hour up to at most five hours. I'll pass on your recommendation. _Galactica_ out.

Zhan walked onto the bridge as Torias returned the handset to its port. "What is it Ruiwan?"

"Avery, Catherine is still on board! She's not coming!"

"Okay, so I've had a little troube getting a sitter, but trust me she's not going."

As if on cue, Catherine entered the bridge. "You're not leaving me behind!" she insisted.

As Zhan and Catherine dropped into Mandarin, Torias rolled his eyes. "The Cylons are going to be walkover compared to this." He shut up quick when Zhan shot a look at him. Apparently Catherine was staying.

**_Battlestar Pegasus, Engineering_**

Rachel was acclimitizing to her duties as CAG and third in command. She couldn't help the feeling though, that despite the raw power of the _Pegasus_ that something would happen to her, that she wouldn't come back.

She was touring the corridors outside of Engineering, feeling the warmth of Tylium Reactor Two through the deckplates. She was startled as she heard a noise behind her. It was only the CO.

"This isn't one of my normal places for a stroll, Major." he said, catching up.

"You're here, aren't you, sir?" Rachel replied.

Apollo sighed. "It's a habit of mine. When the ship is about to go into battle I used to eat. But because of the complaints from my wife now I've taken to touring the ship."

Rachel smiled. " Long ago there was a long war between two of our countries, Britain and France.There was a story once, about the commander, Admiral Nelson, touring the _Victory_ before the battle of Trafalgar. It may have been with sailing ships but the idea of a captain touring his ship before a battle..."

Apollo seemed interested. "What happened? How did the battle go?"

Rachel hesitated. "The battle was won by the British. They turned back a fleet of 33 ships with only 27 and didn't lose a single ship. But Admiral Nelson was killed."

Apollo grimaced. "Shouldn't have asked," he said. "But it's a good tale."

"Hope it doesn't put you off supper."

Apollo grinned. "What, so you and Dee can hog all the food? Over my dead body!"

Rachel smiled, but inwardly wondered, would he become just that? Or worse?

* * *

Next chapter is where the fun starts. 


	5. Chapter 6: Allegiance

CHAPTER 6: Allegiance

**_Computer log, May 18, 2371  
Username: Agathon, Sharon V.  
Leftenant, Battlestar Galactica CFCV-111_**

_Is this thing working? Stupid- oh. Hm. sigh My name is Lt. Sharon Agathon. Today is... The 18th. It's been almost a month. I still haven't talked to anybody about this, but I suppose I should. It may make the Old Man transfer me to some Canadian freighter but I didn't have a choice. I had to do what I did._

_It all started when I found my first Human resistance cell. I think it was Anders who was leading it, but I never saw him. The partisans made sure of that. I spent two days trapped in a subterranean cave, probably the base camp. I thought I would see some action soon, but conditions must have been tough upstairs._

_Colonel Tigh came down about... Lunchtime? ...on the third day. I would have to convince him who I was, or I would be seeing the regeneration tank very soon._

_**Four weeks earlier, New Caprica City  
T-minus Ten Hours  
**_

"Make it quick, Cylon. I have an operation to plan." Tigh said.

"I'd help you if you'd get these damn irons off. I'm Sharon."

"Like hell you are! You'd probably tear us limb from limb if you had the chance." he growled. "No, you're staying right where you are."

"No, Colonel! I am Sharon. I-"

"If you are then maybe we should shoot you again! You shot the Old Man in the chest, after all he did for you! And you know why?"

Frak, humans could be so _slow_sometimes!

"The other Sharon! The one Helo rescued! I had my child a year ago, and it died! I saved the ship from a Cylon attack, I rescued the people from Caprica, I have been nothing but helpful since you captured me!"

"If this crap is true and you are who you say you are there is no Helo to control you, no baby toaster to temper your actions. What's to say you won't betray us anyway!" Tigh stormed to the computer terminal lifted from a Raptor on the surface that hadn't been impounded. "And besides, Sharon is on the ship! How did you get here? I don't believe who you are."

Sharon tried one last time. "There was a civilian ship destroyed in orbit today. I was onboard. It was an envoy mission designed to talk to the Cylons."

Tigh stared at her like she had grown a third eye. Maybe she shouldn't have included the talking part. "The Old Man would never talk to the Cylons. I just wish he'd talk to us as well." Tigh tried working the terminal again, but wasn't having much luck with the jerry-rigged circuitry.

Sharon suddenly had an idea. "There should be a recon Raptor out there now. They would be searching for our wreckage and distess beacon."

Tigh peered up the ladder. "Chief! Get your ass down here and try again!"

Chief Tyrol, looking slightly frazzled, crawled down the ladder. "You're going to have to train someone else soon, Colonel. The baby's coming in less than a month."

"Chief, now's not the time for chat! I want you to try and pick up a Raptor, see if Adama's sent one yet."

"We haven't found anything yet, what makes you think he's coming back?"

"He will come back!" Tigh insisted. "He won't abandon us here, not if it's the last thing he does."

"He's coming," said Sharon. "There's a Raptor out there now." And if their wasn't she would need a new plan, and a damn good one. She'd been lucky so far, but escaping twice from the Cylons would be a delicate matter.

Tyrol, who had been rewiring the set to recieve, suddenly stared at Tigh in disbelief. "She's right. I've got a signal! There's a Raptor out there!" After that all language flew out the window as a window opened up on the screen.

ZERO HOUR IN TEN HOURS

"Well that's helpful," Tigh said, regaining the use of words first.

"Zero Hour is the codename we're using for the rescue mission. In ten hours, we will have to create a disturbance to overbalance the Cylons."

Tigh looked at Sharon with a new mix of feeling. "Send a query about Sharon and the civilian envoy."

Tyrol recieved an answer almost immediately. "The _Twilight, _and Sharon was aboard..."

_**Computer Log, Supplemental**_

_It's pretty self-explanatory from there. For the next hour I helped the resistance smuggle weapons around. The Centurions are programmed to respond to any Cylon model, so I had free run of the place. I didn't run into too many NCP guards, but they can't tell individuals apart like we can. They can't sense the auras, but seeing as humans don't have any that's understandable and lucky for me._

_I was looking at another casualty list when we discovered a major problem: the ships had been laocked down and the launch keys removed. I shouldn't have to explain that._

_I was tasked to infiltrate my own people, and recover the keys. But before I got there I encountered a woman in passing. She had been apprehended by the NCP, and was being taken from the detention centre to Colonial One, for some reason. She was carrying what appeared to be a child._

_I thought nothing of it at the time, and proceeded to interface with the central computer and gain access to the building (the only one in the city so far). It was there, after I had retrieved the keys, that I met the first Cylon(s) who recognzed me._

_But worse, I found out who the baby was. It was mine._

_**Four weeks earlier, New Caprica Detention Centre  
T-Minus Eight Hours**_

"Sharon Valerii. I know you." said someone in the corner.

Sharon whipped out her Colonial pistol and disengaged the safety. She couldn't see anyone, but whoever it was could see her.

"Who is it?" she asked into the empty room.

"Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten already. I thought I was rather more to you. We worked together a lot, you know."

Sharon shook her head in disbelief. "Five?" she asked. Five had worked with her on Caprica, in the effort to explore Cylon-Human breeding. She didn't remember him with fondness, he and a Six had assaulted her on a rooftop. It had been part of the experiment, bt she sensed they liked it. She had never felt at home with him.

"The only thing you are is a bad memory. Why don't you just drop dead?"

"Careful, little sister. We haven't hurt you yet, but we could very easily." This was from the other side of the room, and held a faint Tauron accent. The humans from Earth had one similar, 'British', but she didnt identify with that.

She spun around, still seeing nobody. But that distraction allowed Five to rush forward and disarm her.

"Okay, so you got me. What are you going to now, shoot me, box me?" She rasied her hands as D'anna Biers, a Three model, came out of hiding.

"Actually, we want you to help us." Five said casually. "You're going to help us track down the resistance you've joined."

"I haven't joined any-"

"We have Colonel Tigh, little sister. You were the first thing he cried after we took his eye out."

"You what?" Sharon cried. She tried to repress the knowledge of her people's barbarity in times of conflict, but it was rudely awakened.

"You have two choices. Help us, and join us afterwords, or we kill your daughter and box you." Five said that as calmly as if taking a walk in the rain.

"For your information," Sharon began, but Biers cut her off.

"You daughter is dead? We thought that too, but fortunately we found her. The Admiral has tricked you, Sharon. And if you don't believe me, you can see her yourself. You'd know who your own daughter is, right? So if you help us, we'll help you."

_**Computer Log, Supplemental**_

_I should have stopped right there. With the training I had implanted in my false memories I could probably have taken both of them. I should have said "thank you, but no" and put a stop to it right there and then. But when a mother is faced with the possibility of reuniting with her daughter, she would risk almost anything. Wouldn't she?_

_It doesn't matter anyway. That is what I did. The tasks seemed trivial at first, provide a map here and there, disrupt shipping. Unknown to them I played both sides, allowing the most important transfers to continue while disrupting the pointless ones. I had returned the launch keys by then, so even if they didn't rise against the Cylons in force when the Terrans and Colonials came they could still escape.  
_

_Then they let me see my daughter. And there was no frakking doubt in my mind. I could see Helo in her little face, and the way she grabbed my finger... I almost forgot where I was, seeing her again brought my right back to the day on _Galactica_ when she was born... And the joy that I felt, I knew Helo would feel it too when, or if, I got back. Though the humans had done more for me and asked for less, I felt that moment as if the Cylons were generous and helpful, and I almost wanted to help them completely._

_Maybe that's why I did what I did._

_**Four weeks earlier, Colonial One  
T-Minus Thirty Minutes  
**_

Sharon was only half listening to the briefing. This 'assignment' could actually mean success or failure to the Resistance. She had a decision to make, but she couldn't make it.

This was not lost on Tyrol. "Sharon. Hey, you alright?"

She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, trying to appear unconcerned. "Yeah, Chief, I'm fine."

"I've seen new crewman more decisive than you. Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"I'm fine chief, okay? Get off my back!" She waved him away impatiently. She wanted to talk more than anything, but she knew that if they found out she had been passing information, they would do a lot worse than kill her. They would never trust her again.

"Fine. But if you want advice, do what you think is right for you." He waited for a response.

"I didn't ask for an opinion!" she snapped, but her eyes were filled with a longing to just share everything. Tyrol didn't pick that up, and shuffled away.

The image of Hera, reaching out with both arms towards her weighed heavily on her mind. Help them, she lived, avoid them, Hera died.

Her part in the plan was to plant an explosive in the Detention Centre to free all the prisoners. She had a small portion of the explosive the Resistance owned. The problem with that was simple. Two days earlier Kara Thrace had been caught switching hiding places. She could be anywhere in the Centre. But Anders had said to do it, so she would do it. Unless she decided to help the Cylons. Perhaps they had moved her child into a safer position. What was about to become a very unsafe place.

Could she take that chance? The explosives felt heavy in her bag.

No.

The decision was so fast it was almost unconcious. She didn't know why she did it, only that her child was depnding on her. Hera haunted her mind with every extra step she took. The Cylons would be overbalanced enough. She would tell Tyrol that the explosives failed. No one would ever suspect her. Her conscience would be clear. Wouldn't it?

She fast-walked to the Detention Centre, slipping past the NCP and Centurions. She almost ran to the office where Five briefed her on her missions.

"Welcome back, Sharon. What information do you have for us?" said Five, drinking a cup of tea and looking out the armoured window at the snowy tent city. Sharon saw dozens of humans struggling around burning oil drums, dressed in ragged clothing that looked more like blankets that real winter clothing. Was she betraying them? Who's side was she on?

"They were planning to... to use all of their explosives," she lifted the bag "to damage the Detention Centre. I volunteered, and for obvious reasons was selected."

Five smiled. "You've always been a most resourceful series, and you're a fine example. You've made the right choice, Sharon, and this has saved a lot of Humans and Cylons. Everyone in this building, including myself, has you to thank. We remain alive, and so does your daughter."

"Can I see her?" Sharon asked.

"She's down the corridor. You can go now."

_**Computer Log, Supplemental**_

_I still can't believe I did that. But now that both I and my daughter are safe, I can look back and say that. If things had turned out differently would I say the same thing about that choice?_

_I reflect on the choices I made that day, working for the Cylons, betrying my new people, sabotaging plots. I managed to get away without suspicion, and when they found me I had my daughter in my arms. Helo was overjoyed to have her back. That almost made it worth it, but I haven't told him.  
_

_So it seems in general that despite my actions this was a victory for us, for humanity. But was it really worth it, to put one individual above all the others? Am I really that selfish? If you had asked me five months ago, I would have said no. But now, I don't know what to think. I go over it again and again, playing out all the options, all the responses, the different scenarios._

_But what really scares me is the one question that silences all the others: Would I do it all over again?_

_And the most damning thing of all is I think I would. Can I live with that? Can I really sit with my crewmates and feel at home again? This time it was trivial, but if I am willing to give up allegiance that easily I'm a liability to this ship and her crew. One day I might be responsible for all their deaths, and I can't live with that. I would do anything for this crew, for the Colonies and for Earth. But when my daughter is in danger...  
_

_Is this what Boomer felt before she shot the Old Man? What would he do if he knew?_

_I can't risk that. Computer, delete log entry.  
_

* * *


	6. Chapter 7: Zero Hour

_Fortune favours the bold  
-Old Earth saying  
_

CHAPTER 7: Zero Hour

_**Battlestar Pegasus, Deck 16**_

Major (commander) Rachel Carey was finally reporting to CIC for the long awaited mission. Five minutes to Zero Hour. Five minutes until the Cylons got the shock of their lives! From what Commander Adama had told her the Cylons did not react well to offensives, and collapsed under well executed pressure. What the bigwigs in command were worried about was plan B. What would they do if New Caprica City had too much AAA fire? What if anything in the air were targeted? Fortunately that wasn't her problem.

Sgt. Hadrian, the general commander of the Colonial Marine Corps. on both _Pegasus_ and _Galactica_, had been training her soldiers with new compressed energy weapons provided by Torias. She had also been asked about armour tactics, but considering the Colonials had no tanks Rachel thought the question was moot. Perhaps Adama had an ace in his sleeve, but maybe he didn't. You could never tell with him sometimes.

The multiple doors of CIC rotated open, and she stepped through into the busy command centre. The main lights were dimmed, the yellow ambient lighting on, and the computer screens lining the walls threw a glow onto the ceiling. She took up station beside the plot table.

Her personal Mk.VII was down for repairs (_Perfect timing, _she thought to herself), so captain Marcia Case was commanding Red Team while captain Richardson commanded Blue Team. Rachel would coordinate through CIC instead of from the cockpit. Her trigger finger itched, but she rolled with the punches.

"Commander on deck!" announced the boatswain as Lee Adama entered CIC. His visual scan was much quicker than Rachel's had been, and he took up station under the DRADIS display. After nodding to Rachel and Dualla, who had been lurking around the back working with the newer terran officers, he picked up the handset from the plot table.

"This is the commander," he started, and Rachel could hear his voice reverberating through the halls. "As you know, we are about to launch the largest rescue mission in the history of the Twelve Colonies." He paused. "In the history of Mankind." he added. "We will make history by making the attempt."

All of CIC was looking at him now. "So before we go into the depths of the battle, I want to say this. I have never served with a better crew, and I know we can pull through this. I'm not one for long speeches, but I know we'll come through, one way or another." He took a final breath. "And let history never forget the name _Pegasus. _Adama out."

"FTL!" Dualla shouted.

"Go!"

"Weapons!"

"Go!"

"Set Condition One throughout the ship! Spin up FTLs one, two, and three. All hands, brace for jump." ordered Apollo.

"FTL coordinates locked in and ready to execute."

Apollo motioned with one hand towards the front of the ship. "Engage!"

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**_Colonial One, New Caprica_**

Gaius Baltar looked into the barrel of the gun pointed at the centre of his face. "Mr. President, you _will_ sign this order, won't you?" Five said in a mocking voice. The order in question was another one of the death lists the Cylon ruling council had handed to him. They didn't really care whther it was official or not, but they did seem ever so adamant.

When he signed the paper, noting but ignoring the name ROSLIN underlined in the top five (_If they ask, I didn't see that_), the gun was removed and he could breathe again.

Caprica, a Six model he had fallen in- love?- with on Caprica looked sadly at him. She and another Sharon Valerii (the one forced by hidden programming to shoot William Adama) had fought hard to get this occupation to work at all, and were the only thing standing between life and extermination.

Five smiled without really smiling. "Thank you. You always make the right choice, Mr. President." he said while walking out the hatch. When he had left Baltar was alone with Caprica.

"I've got to get out of here! He'll kill me..." he hissed in panic.

"You're too valuable to him," Caprica said. "And I won't let anything happen to you."

"He's shot you twice now!" Baltar said, the image of Caprica with a clean hole in her head still vivid. He had refrained from looking at the back of her head both times, being knowledgable in ballistics meant he already had had a vivid image and had not been in favour of losing his lunch again.

"Don't remind me," she said calmly. He would never know the joy of resurrection, of knowing you had a safety net to fall back on. She stood up and left the ship.

Gaius sank in his chair and took a shot of ambrosia. He stared at the glass, and then threw it away, reaching for the bottle. The Cyons didn't even need him. He could be shot at any time and they wouldn't shed a tear.

Maybe it was the amobrosia that made him do it, but when Five returned from the Detention Centre ten minutes later, Baltar smashed him with the bottle and took his gun. Five staggered into the corner of the room, but Baltar shot him once in the head. It was only a small pistol, but a head shot worked as well on a Cylon as it did on a Human. He crumpled to the ground leaving a trail of blood on the wall.

A few months before Baltar would have had a fit about his office being dirtied, but right now he didn't give a frak. What he needed was a plan.What would the Cylons expect him to do? Probably head for the shipyard or the city proper. Yes, that would make sense. He'd do the opposite then. As he exited the ship and turned towards the west, away from the city, he laughed inwardly. They wouldn't catch him like an ordinary criminal. He was much too smart for them.

Wasn't he?

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**_Battlestar Galactica, CIC_**

Despite the Terran's superior technology, Adama was being forced to wait for them. With the time normally taken to compute each set of coordinates almost eliminated due to the new Terran computers (they remained un-networked at Adama's insistence) the FTL drive placed them outside the New Caprica nebula in under ten minutes. The Terran's FTL drive, which utilized a less powerful but more controlled space-warp technique, which markably slower.

"We're reciveing a subspace message from the other side of the nebula. The task force is in position." reported Aaron Kelly, from Tactical.

"Send a subspace signal to _Pegasus. _All ahead full."

The die was cast.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

**_Colonial One_**

"Gaius?" Caprica called from the next room. "Gaius, where are you?" Grumbling, she came forward into the office section. Naturally, the body of Five was the first thing she saw. There was no doubt in her mind who had done it, even allowing how incompetant Baltar was at anything decisive.

_"Desperation has a funny way of stimulating people, doesn't it?"_

Caprica looked around to see Baltar sitting in the lounge chair. He hadn't been there when she entered, yet here he was.

_"Oh, you've forgotten about me already? I thought I'd been more friendly than that."_ He took a drink out of a half empty bottle of ambrosia sitting on the coffee table.

"Gaius?" she asked. It was her internal Baltar that she somehow unconciously projected. If she told anybody about him, they'd dissect her study her. A cylon had to think about something to project it. It didn't take any concentration, but it wasn't completely random. And she couldn't turn this Baltar off.

"_Enough pontificating," _he said. He could read her thoughts? He never could do that before. "_It's deperately important that you go after him. Don't tell the Cylons about this. Just. Go."_

"But I don't know..." Caprica tried to say, but int-Baltar cut her off.

_"He is heading West, away from the city. This is the safest way to go, for now, but it will soon be very dangerous. Enough talking. Get moving."_ And with that, he disappeared.

Then he was gone. There was something very odd about his behaviour, but he had been right before.

"What happened?" asked another Five, entering the ship. Caprica snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him.

"It's Baltar. He's shot Five and headed into the city. This could be-"

"Right, whatever." said Five-B. "But we have a bigger problem. Two battlestars are approaching the planet, and I think your friend's disappearance is related."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

**_Battlestar Pegasus_**

"Set batteries Echo through Highland to switch to salvo, and have the bow batteries target Master-3." Apollo was swimming through a sea of damage reports and casualty lists.

"The last basestar is closing in from the north pole of the planet," reported Hoshi. "He's launching Raiders."

"Designate target Master-6, recompute, and redeploy Blue Team to intercept. When all the targets are in one area, send the signal."

_Pegasus _was surrounded by every basestar the Cylons fielded. They had learned since the Battle of the Resurrction Ship which battlestar was the most dangerous. They had tried to lure Peggy away by capturing two of her Raptors over a year ago, but the ship had shown incredible stamina and survived. Now there were six ships attacking her, and she was not holding up as well as before. Another part of the master systems display flashed, indicating damage to another engine. That left six operational, one of those at half-power.

"Targets aligned!" shouted Hoshi over the roar of distant nukes hitting the hull. He transmitted the signal.

A nuke then decided that it would be a good idea to hit Peggy, and the ship shuddered under the blast. What most of the crew didn't realize is that Apollo had been unceremoniously thrown across CIC.

It was five seconds before order was restored. Dualla, who almost flew to Apollo's side, started carrying him out of the room. "Major Carey!" she shouted at Rachel, "You have the deck!"

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

From the depths of the nebula, six forms gained clarity, and accelerated towards the _Pegasus,_ which had unintentionally become a decoy with teeth. _Laurier,_ leading the task force, was strafing left and right, which prevented the Cylon's from achieving a point defense lock. But the Cylons then launched ship-to-ship missiles at medium range.

"Silent running compromised, barriers have been raised." reported Tohmara at the helm of _Laurier._ The ship shook as a barrage of high explosives impacted. "No damage, shield efficiency holding at 96 percent."

"Attack pattern Omega, target at your discretion. We'll do this the old fashioned way," commented Torias.

_Laurier_, her stealth functions compromised, accelerated to full speed and opened fire. The barrage of fusion torpedoes and pulse weapons tore through the first basestar like paper, dividing it neatly along the central axis. _Laurier_, behaving more like a huge fighter than a starship, rolled slowly over and pulled away from the fight, Cylon missiles striking harmlessly against the shields. The _Renown,_ pulling up the rear, opened up with a salvo less powerful, but enough to finish the job. Raiders diverted from _Pegasus_ were taken by more Vipers launched from the British carrier _Voltaic._

Though the Cylons were still in the fight, the sudden loss of a basestar was still demoralizing. Every Raider from the surface was scrambled to air patrol around the city, even though it was on the other side of the planet from the fight.

While the battle raged on the other side of the planet, _Galactica _was ignored...

**_Battlestar Galactica, CIC_**

The ship wasn't designed for what Adama was about to do. The thoery had been worked over in War College for emergencies, and if this wasn't an emergency, Adama didn't know what was. He hadn't looked forward to using it, and despite the training he had, he still wasn't sure whether an old relic like his bucket could pull off a maneuver designed for the newer ships.

But his crew was the best, and he couldn't just transfer the whole lot to _Pegasus._ So _Galactica_ would complete the mission.

"All hands, brace for turbulance. All Vipers, stand by." He turned to Kelly. "Retract the pods and set retraction to manual. We don't want them opening after rematerialization." There was a muted hum as the pods retreated into their alcoves. When the noise stopped, and the indicator flashed green, Adama ordered the jump.

_Galactica _suddenly appeared fifteen kilometres above the surface of New Caprica City. The plan was to launch the Vipers as soon as DRADIS sweep (which would take seconds, hopefully) cleared the area. Adama had hoped to use the ventral batteries to some devastating effect, but the plasma coating the hull prevented any of the ventral sensors and observers from picking out targets.

Another problem was that DRADIS picked up not only swarms of Raiders, but more AAA guns than they could shake a stick at. The Vipers wouldn't last long.

Adama was forcefully reminded by his stomach and his ears that the ship was still falling like a brick, the shrieking of re-entry growing louder as the atmosphere thickened.

"All Vipers, abort launch, repeat, abort launch." They would have time to discuss where the ack-ack weapons came from later. Right now all he could do was demoralize the Cylons once more.

"All port thrusters, full power, three second burst!" he ordered. That would bring them down right on top of Colonial One.

The Cylons were more or less surprised to see a two-thousand tonne behemoth screaming down at them. While some wondered what the hell Adama was thinking, others ran for the hills. Fortunately for both groups the wailing titan vanished two hundred metres above the ground, leaving a _Galactica_ shaped hole in the air. The resulting implosion was more for shock value than damage, but it did its job.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**_Battlestar Pegasus_**

"Two basestars left, Major!" reported Hoshi, who ducked to avoid a shower of sparks. CIC was a mess of cables, broken glass, and live wires. The ship wasn't holding much better. Life support had failed, they had five engines, gravity was intermittant at best, and one more hit would blow the starboard flight pod right off its supports.

"Weapons just went offline! Major, we've got a Tylium leak!"

"What the hell does that mean?" Rachel shouted.

Hoshi ran a check on his dying computer. "Ten minutes to a core breach! We can't stop it!"

With that revelation, the ship was suddenly doomed. Rachel picked up the comm reciever. "All hands, this is the commanding officer. All hands, abandon ship. This is not a drill, repeat, all hands to emergency escape pods and Raptors." A new alarm blared through the din, and a green light started flashing.

"Mr. Hoshi, is there any way of increasing the explosion if the ship explodes?" she asked.

"The biggest bang we can make is the selfdestruct system." Hoshi replied.

Rachel sat down at an abandoned console. "Mr. Thorton, Mr. Hoshi, remain in CIC please." She leaned towards the microphone. "Recognize Carey, Major Rachel, service number 758 dash 47855 dash 654. Mr. Thorton, if you please."

"Recognize Thorton, Lieutenant Abel, service number 445 dash 55412 dash 332." He stepped back while Hoshi identified himself.

Rachel turned back to the console. "Set autodestruct system, authorization Carey-541-alpha, five minutes, silent countdown. Final code 7-7-7-8-destruct."

All the alarms fell silent, though the lights kept flashing. "Mr. Thorton, set a course directly for the nearest basestar." Rachel ordered. "Then get to an escape pod.

After Thorton and Hoshi had run off, she turned to the burning CIC. She spotted a briefcase, sitting by the computer bank. She snatched it up.

She didn't remember the trip to the escape pod, but the she did remember being shot backwards out of _Pegasus_ as she barreled towards the nearest basestar.Her watch, which she had set to match the autodestruct timer, cycled to one minute. _Pegasus_, trailing fire and aviation fuel like blood from a wounded beast, smashed into the basestar, the alligator prow crumpling in like cardboard. The engines went dead. The delicate starboard flight pod detatched its moorings and clipped the second basestar, breaking off an arm. The _Laurier_ banked around the basestar and _Pegasus,_ still locked together, and fired a short burst at the second basestar, damaging it.

00:00

With a glow like a small sun, the _Pegasus'_ engine block fragmented, and blasted both _Pegasus_ and the last two basestars into pieces. Explosive shells fired from beyond her field of vision made sure that they were destroyed. Had _Galactica_ returned?

Flying through the debris was another ship, the right size for a battlestar. When it cleared the dying flames, she saw the name on the side of the pod.

There was a jolt, and she felt the escape pod being dragged into the port flight pod of the battlestar _Mercury.  
_

* * *


	7. Chapter 8: In The Dark Of The Moon

_"Though the outcome favoured the few, it led to a confrontation at the home of the gods."_

_-Colonial Scripture, Book Of Pythia  
_

* * *

CHAPTER 8: In The Dark Of The Moon

_**Battlestar Mercury, Flight Deck**_

Rachel climbed out of the cramped escape pod, clutching the briefcase from _Pegasus._

"That was quite a fireworks show!" Benson said as she regained her balance.

"Just shut up," she said. "You've still got your ship."

"You can have her. I don't know how to drive the thing! I've got nothing more than a glorified repair crew!"

"What about the Colonials?" Rachel asked.

"No crew, no Vipers. I'm guessing the ship was shut down by a virus, and they evacuated. They ship's in one piece, though. We've had to, uh, de-network the ship." Benson looked at his watch. "Look, we really don't have the time chit-chat. So get your bridge crew there now. I've got to get to _Laurier._"

"What about Commander Adama?" Rachel asked. "He was injured."

"We'll take him to _Laurier_ as well." Benson snapped a salute. "Congratulations, Major Carey. You've got yourself your own battlestar."

**_\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\_**

**_Battlestar Galactica, Starboard Flight Deck_**

Adama, grateful for the lull in the fighting, observed the activity going on with a curious eye. An assault force the likes of which he had not seen before was being assembled on the flight deck. But there were no Vipers for air support. That would come from the _Pegasus_ Vipers that were now stationed aboard _Mercury._ The battlestar had shown up at just the right time.

He looked out over the deck. Instead of Vipers, large transport ships wer being loaded with something he hoped would give the Cylons a swift kick in the ass. Several units of tanks, or the Terran word he liked more, panzers, were being loaded into the ships, along with battalions of Marines and Terran soldiers. The Centurions would be more than a match for isolated ground forces, but with air support and armour backup, things might be more even, maybe even a walkover. He hadn't expected to even consider success as a more likely chance that defeat, not since the Cylons came, but this one he was sure would be a winner.

But then the Cylons had a way of improvising when you least expected them to.

"Good afternoon Admiral," said Torias, who had been overseeing the loading of the Terran panzers. "Ready to give the Cylons a good clout?"

"My pleasure." Adama took another look at the panzers. They looked dangerous. "I wouldn't have thought of a ground assault. But personally, I just go with what you know, until something better comes along. Something like this,"

"Let's just hope it works before we go vaunting it." Torias cautioned.

Adama sighed. "I've had to send a lot of good people to their deaths. I suppose that's the curse of being in command. Every decision I make could have someone killed, or more people could die. Worse, I could gamble the lives on the off chance I save more than I condemn. I'm just happy for even a chance of an easy victory." He paused, thinking. "You know, when the Cylons attacked I was getting ready to retire. Then everything changed."

"I don't want to think about retirement for a long time..." Torias said. "But when this is all over, you might get your chance. If someone else came along, would you step down?"

Adama pondered that. "I don't know. I thought I could take orders easily enough, but I ended up ordering a strike against another battlestar because of the orders of 'someone else'."

"Do you have the landing coordinates I requested?" said Torias, getting back to the matter at hand.

"Hmm? Yes, I decided on a point west of the city. The hills can give us cover, and they won't be looking in that direction."

"Then west it is."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

**_Point Deacon, West Of New Caprica City_**

Marine Staff Sgt. Hadrian sat in the cupola of the T-64. She hadn't done any armour drills fors years, but had done well at War College, albeit with less advanced models. These panzers, as they were called by the Terrans, boasted massive 88mm auto-loading high velocity cannons. With high-explosive shells, the Cylons would be shivering, if they were designed to. They were also heavy on the defensive side. Not only did they have sloped glacis plates and metal skirts, they were composed of depleted uranium, denser than lead, sandwiched between composite metal and ceramic plating.

Sgt. Hadrian had been placed in command of the ground assault, not only because she was Colonial, but she had done some tactical studies of the ground surrounding New Caprica when the buildings were still being constructed. After a crash course in armour fighting a few days ago, she felt more than ready to engage the toasters who were holding New Caprica.

"All units, this is kilo-bravo. Attack commencing." announced the radio in her ear. She picked up the mic, acknowledged, and switched channels. "All units, engage forward drives."

The hydrogen engine caught almost immediately, and the panzers purred forward.

The first instance of enemy resistance was a pocket of Centurions on a hillside by the road. Machine gun bullets glanced off the armour plating, doing no damage. Hadrian ducked into the fighting compartment as a wing of Vipers shrieked overhead. "Gunner, high explosive." Hadrian ordered. The autoloader clanged, and the gun spoke (bellowed, more like) with a roar that remained half a minute after the round had left the breach.

The Cylons remained about half that long.

The company advanced, with armoured troop carriers in behind the panzers, ready to disgorge combined forces at a moments notice.

Hadrian spotted a flash, and ducked into the turret seconds before a shaped-charge rocket impacted on the armour plating. There was no damage.

_Don't get cocky,_ Hadrian told herself as she ordered the gunner to destroy the Centurion. This time the coaxial energy gun chewed up the area, and the shiny hulk of the combat machine rolled down the hill, the red eye stilled.

They hit the first mine five kilometres from the city. It blew the track off one of the lead panzers, and Hadrian quickly ordered all stop. She looked at some satellite recon provided by _Galactica_ Raptors, and decided on another path off-road. That would lead them to Breeder's Canyon, and straight into the city.

**_Battlestar Galactica_**

"Group two has reached the perimeter of the city, just outside Breeder's Canyon," said Kelly.

"It's Group One I'm worried about," said Adama. "Breeder's Canyon is the perfect place for an ambush."

"You're right, Admiral," said Torias. "Should we divert some of division 2 to assist them?"

"Place them on standby, and tell Hadrian to button up."

Most good tank commanders travelled with the hatches open. That way the commander had the best line of sight. These panzers had all-around radar and infrared sensors, but there were ways of fooling them, and Adama was sure the Cylons knew them.

**_\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_**

The Cylons sure knew how to fool the sensors. Hadrian had arrived in the canyon and detected nothing. After a minute she and several other commanders had popped the hatches and stayed up in the cupola. A sniper had hit two commanders, and now the entire unit was under attack by antipanzer rockets. The whole area was strewn with mines up ahead, and a minesweeper unit would have to go ahead and clear the area.

But Hadrian had more important things to deal with.

"Gunner, high explosive. Muzzle flashes at three o'clock, forty degree elevation."

The 88mm, which was deafening by itself, added its voice to the guns of the other units. Explosions cratered the canyon walls, but the rockets kept coming from all directions. One panzer was hit between the hull and the turret, blowing the guns right off. Whatever crew wasn't dead bailed out before the hydrogen and ammunition cooked off. It then did so with a spectacular fireworks display.

The turret of her panzer turned to soak the forest to her left with concentrated energy fire. Two more Centurions collapsed holding a rocket launcher between them. Hadrian caught a glimpse of a mortar position beside them moments before a shell impacted the hull harmlessly. The shaped charge shook the panzer thoroughly, knocking her hard into the bulkhead.

She ingnored the pain, concentrating on the muzzle flashes from the Cylon position. "Gunner, maintain trajectory. High-explosive, left ten degrees, open fire!"

With a mighty bellow the gun destroyed the mortar position and toasted two more Centurions. A scream announced the arrival of more air support as the Vipers tore into a wing of Raiders that had come intending to attack the panzers from the sky. Their air-to-ground missiles were useless in the aerial dogfight that followed. Two missiles were launched anyway, and two panzers were slagged.

It was slight, but Hadrian noticed a drop in the rate of fire from the Cylon forces. "Gunner, high-explosive, target at your discretion." Another Cylon position was shelled.

Two more panzers opened up and the Cylon fire stopped.

By now the valley was ablaze with incendieries and burning pine, the red glow drowning out the glow from the two moons. Snow was falling off the trees, its semi-solid state weighed down by meltwater. The Vipers wailed overhead, the Raiders defeated. The troop carriers opened up, shock troops and minesweepers disembarking.

Hadrian painfully crawled out of the cupola, and observed the carnage.

"Hadrian to Kilo-bravo, mission accomplished. We held."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

**FIVE MINUTES LATER**

"Ma'am?" called a private, with his rifle slung over one shoulder. "We've found someone."

Hadrian stood up from the field station and followed him into the bush. They were headed towards one of the copses they had soaked with energy fire. A group of Terran soldiers and Colonial Marines were huddled in behind a ridge.

A man was lying there, his long hair soaked by snow and mud, with several third-degree burns from the energy weapons. There was something about him Hadrian recognized, but not personally.

"Do I know you?" she asked.

"I'm dying, and all that's... all you can say?" he groaned. At least he was right about one thing: he wasn't going to make it. "I'm Gaius Baltar, president of the Twelve Colonies."

Hadrian wanted to kick him right there, President or not. "I know you, you collaborator. How could you surrender to them so easily?"

He winced in pain. "Shut up about me. I have a request," he hissed the last words, and stared at the body of a blonde woman beside him.

"Why should I do anything for you?" Hadrian asked hotly.

"Because you might enjoy it. I want you to shoot me." he gasped.

Hadrian didn't need to be told twice. The next thing she knew she was standing over the body with her pistol in her hand. She looked at the body. "I'm not even sure he deserved that," she whispered to nobody in particular.

"Ma'am?" asked a soldier.

"He should have died slowly."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

**EIGHT HOURS LATER**

_**Battlestar Galactica, Starboard Flight Deck**_

The last Raptor carrying survivors came into the bay. Adama and Torias, surrounded by cheering throngs, forced their way through to greet the newcomers.

New Caprica City was being stripped and looted for all resources. Anything that could be used was taken. Colonial One was about the only structure left higher than six feet. Vice-President Tom Zarek was due to be sworn in the next day, as leader of the Colonial Province being set up on Homeworld Two. Laura Roslin and the other inmates of the detention centre including Kara Thrace and a stricken Saul Tigh were rescued, and those that required it were put into rehab. Tigh was offered a new biomechanical eye identical to the one he lost right down to cell structure, but he refused. He wouldn't be forgetting the hell he'd endured for a long, long time. He and Kara were silent while everyone else cheered the victory.

All in all, things were looking rosy. Even Commander Adama was recovering on _Laurier._

The hatch to the Raptor opened up. Karl Agathon, with his arm around his wife, was the first off. He saluted Adama with his free arm. What Adama noticed in Sharon's arm was a child.

"Admiral, we have to talk," said Sharon, just as another Sharon stepped off the Raptor. She ignored a stunned Adama and walked directly to Torias.

"My name is Sharon Valerii, callsign Boomer," she said. As Adama signalled for Marines to detain her, Sharon continued.

"On behalf of the passengers of this Raptor, we request asylum with the Greater Terran Alliance."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

_"Excuse me, where am I?" said Baltar. He looked around, seeing a sweeping forest canopy over his head. Caprica had once told him that it was her favourite scenery to project. In fact, there she was._

_"Gaius?!" she cried, in joy and confusion. "What are you doing here? And why haven't I downloaded yet?"_

_"What are you talking about?" Baltar asked._

_"This is where I appear between death and resurrection. But there are never any other Cylons, let alone you,"_

_"Or me," said another Baltar._

_Baltar stared at him. "Who are you?" The other Baltar was a lot neater, clean shaven, well dressed. What Baltar had been long ago._

_"You can see him?" Caprica asked, shocked._

_"Can you see me?" asked another Six._

_"What are you doing here?" Baltar exclaimed. Six was her usual self, leaning on him._

_"You have visions of me and you never told me?" Caprica exclaimed, her anger rising._

_"How do you know it's a vision, and I could say the same thing for you!" Baltar replied quickly, and Caprica backed down.  
_

_"Not that this isn't really exciting, but we have somewhere to go," said int-Baltar. He lit a cigar and nodded at int-Six. "Nice to see you again by the way,"_

_"You know each other!?" Baltar and Caprica both exclaimed._

_int-Baltar threw up his hands. "We are getting nowhere! Caprica, er, that one" he pointed at int-Six, "we've got to bring them now, before they download!"_

_The forest melted away, and Caprica gasped. They were now sitting overlooking a valley with a huge city nestled in it. A majestic  
structure overlooked the ridge._

_"Follow me," said int-Baltar._

_They entered the government building, (at least that's what Gaius thought it was), and he and Caprica were amazed by the architecture. A vast dome, larger than the Temple on Geminon soared into the interior sky. Columns lined the walls. int-Baltar and int-Six led them down a rather mundane looking corridor away from the majesty of the hall._

_They entered what appeared to be an office. A normal looking man sat typing on what could only be a computer. It was smaller and sleeker than anything Baltar had ever seen._

_"Mr. Baltar, good to see you again, in form, anyway. Same to you, Caprica." the man said to int-Baltar and int-Six. He turned to face the four of them. "So, uh, hi."_

_"What's going on here?!" Baltar almost shouted. "Where am I?"_

_"You're in a place removed from your universe, sort of positioned above it if we look at it in two dimensions, which it isn't. We, or you and I, haven't found a way to bridge this place and yours. Which is why we need you."_

_Though all the science talk appealed to Baltar, it was a little contradictory. "Wait, wait! Then how am I here? And who are you?"_

_The man laughed. "You're right, I'm not being very courteous, am I? I hope you've heard a lot about me," he said, lighting a cigar.  
_

_Baltar looked looked expectantly at him. "You are?"_

_"Don't you get it, Mr. Baltar? I'm God."  
_

* * *

For those who are wondering, this ending was actually the original ending to "Kobol's Last Gleaming". Since they never used it, I will. Keeps you guessing, doesn't it? I just hope I haven't written myself into a corner! Next one might take a while.  



	8. Chapter 9: Homecoming

_This is a long chapter. It sort of ran away from me, like the first one. I hope you can get through it. I don't want to give anything away, but next chapter will throw things in a different direction._

* * *

CHAPTER 9: Homecoming

**_Utopia, Heaven IV_**

_"How is that possible? YOU created the Universe?"_

_God laughed. "No, no! None of us know when the Universe was created, or how. It has just always been. For the universe, time curves back in on itself- sorry, I know it's beyond your comprehension. It's easier to say our ancestors created it."_

_"But you do control the destiny of the Cylon people?" Caprica said almost reverently._

_"Well, sort of. I'm just the PR guy. My brother runs the nation."_

_Caprica shook her head. "Brother? There is only one God."_

_ God snapped his fingers. "Oh! I get it! You think I'm _the_ God! Oh, no. The God of Heaven, that's the planet we're on, is who you're thinking of. I'm Derek Godd. My name's brought that sort of confusion to many of our people."_

_"And who are your people?" Baltar asked._

_"We don't really have a name, but your people call us Angels. And your two alternate counterparts can be called the same thing, if you think about it that way. They've been very helpful."_

_Baltar couldn't wait any longer. "Am I a Cylon?!" he blurted out._

_int-Baltar shook his head. "Oh, joy, here we go."_

_Godd took on a puzzled expression. "No, you're human. But we chose you because of your unique combination of fame, intelligence, access to Defense Mainframe, and selfish personality traits."_

_Not exactly a compliment, but Baltar ignored that. "Then why am I here?"_

_"Because we had the Cylons download your neural patterns into a special Cylon model we had them build, a model they only have about a dozen of in storage. One is being prepared right now. Now, before you completely lose it let me tell you this: we saved your life. You flew the sabotaged Raptor before we expected, and landed a bit off course, but we got to you in time. Awfully elaborate I know, but if you suddenly showed up to work all uncoordinated people would notice. This was the perfect cover. It was bloody difficult to do, and we wo't be doing it again anytime soon."_

_"When do we-"_

_Godd threw his hands up. "Do you always ask so many questions?" Seeing no response, he continued. "We are at war with another group of superbeings, the same group which God came from. There was a minor scuffle on Kobol, and God escaped. The activity attracted the Dravidiiams, who you won't know about, but they swarmed the planet. The other lords fled, but Hera stayed to see the Tribes to safety. She commited suicide shortly after. And we've been at war with the Lords Of Kobol ever since."_

_"So why do you need us?"_

_"Well, er, we were a bit shortsighted and sealed ourselves in to this universe. We can't send anything solid between our world and yours, which is why we needed you to download, and we intercepted your conciousness. We need someone on the other side. We are going to send you two back. Then your counterparts here will guide you through it. Clearly all the mysticim hasn't worked, so I decided to come out and tell you. Goodbye."_

Baltar woke up in a flash of light, floating in a Cylon birthing tank. That alone proved that this was no nightmare.

It could be worse though. He could've been a Cylon all along.

_**Delphi Medical Centre, Delphi, Homeworld Two  
**_

"Good to see you on your feet again," said Adama, entering the room. Lee looked up from the table where he was eating his lunch.

"I'll be out in another day." He took another bite of his sandwich. "Amazing, modern technology. They can make anything taste like cardboard."

"I'm just glad to eat fresh meat." said Adama. "I haven't eaten anything but vegetables for so long I think I'm turning green."

Apollo dropped his food. "What's going on out there?" he asked. "Something's wrong."

"That obvious, eh?" Adama said. He sat down on the hospital bed. "I picked a hell of a time to consider retiring. President Nariyan and Admiral Torias are discussing allowing the captured Cylons asylum on Homeworld One."

"They can't be serious?" Apollo exclaimed. "After _Twilight_ was destroyed I thought they were firmly in our camp."

"Sharon, the one that shot me, has claimed that they've repented of their past, or some other crap like that. She claims they are the reason the Cylons held back."

Apollo almost choked. "Held back? They killed almost fifty people during the occupation with ther death lists, and killed almost a hundred in the battle."

"She claims the Threes wanted to sterilize the planet."

"Oh," was all Apollo could say. "That doesn't justify what they did, not by a longshot."

"Nariyan knows that. Zarek has been trying to get a seat at the discussion, but they consider this an internal affair."

"When will they announce the decision?" asked Apollo.

"This afternoon."

**_Battlestar Mercury, Brig_**

Rachel laughed quietly behind her hand before entering the brig.

"Captain Thrace, Leftenant Woodman, what is going on?"

"Hey skipper, what time is it? You forgot to install a clock." said Woodman through the comm. He was stretched out on the second cot behind the bulletproof glass. Rachel heard a retching sound from behind the partition. Seconds later Thrace came staggering out.

"Captain, have you been drinking again?" asked Rachel.

"wha, me?" Thrace mumbled. "I'm perfecktly, mmpf, fine!"

"Yeah, sure you are. What happened?"

"Well, she's got it in her head that because I flew jets I was a crap pilot..." said Woodman. "So we took the VIIs out for a little combat scenario."

"And?" Rachel tapped her foot.

"I won. She was too stoned to fly straight. Anyway, she wasn't too happy."

"That doesn't explain why you're here. Chief of security says you got into a brawl."

"We had a little-" Woodman paused as Thrace collapsed on her cot, fast asleep. "-disagreement, but nothing serious."

"I'm sure," said Rachel. "She's lucky she's out, I've got a few things to say to her. She's not reintegrating well, is she?"

"No, skipper. Can I go now?"

Rachel thought for a second. "I'll let you out... In the morning."

Ignoring Woodman's indignant response, Rachel left the brig.

_**"The Thirteenth Tribe", Delphi, Homeworld Two**_

"Love the name," said Helo as he sat down at a table. Sharon rolled the new stroller around to the side of the table, putting Hera in easy reach.

Adama wasn't about to hunt down Roslin and force a confession out of her. In fact, she had gone under the radar for the past two weeks since colonization. She was now a schoolteacher in the northern city of Troy, and that seemed to suit her just fine.

"Can I take your order?" said a waiter, taking out a pad of paper from his left pocket.

"Can we have a minute or two to decide?" asked Helo, looking at Sharon, who nodded. "Actually, could I have some of this," he pointed to the listed item on the menu," to drink?"

"That fine, I'll be back in a bit." He rushed off to serve another table.

"From the looks of it Terran food is much the same as ours," said Sharon.

"There's only so much one can do with brocolli," Helo laughed. "One thing I'd rather do without."

"Their brocolli is even worse than ours. Funny how a different plant can get the same name," commented Sharon.

Helo was interrupted by his drink arriving. "Here, Sharon, try some of this."

Sharon looked unhappily at the glass, filled with a bubbling brown soda. "Do I have to?"

"They have some things we don't have. Try it."

Try it she did, and she grimaced. "It's awful. What _is_ it?"

Helo, unperturbed by her reaction, took it back and drank deeply. "They call it Root Beer."

"It's so bubbly, sweet and cloying." She took a drink of water. Looking at Helo, she continued, "And if you drink enough of it, you start to like it."

"It's an acquired taste."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "It's insidious."

Somebody got up and raised the volume on a television in the corner of the room. "Hey, their announcing the result of the asylum plea." someone else cried.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the Greater Terran Alliance." announced the television. Sure enough, President Nariyan rose to the podium.

"Terrans, Colonials, and people of all nations, the government has come to the decision regarding the Cylon asylum." He took a glance at his paper, clearly he was too busy to write his own speeches. "I have agreed on terms we have negotiated. Should the Cylons report themselves to the sanctuary district in Aphrika City, and abide by our laws, contact nobody off planet and possess no weapons, they will be permitted to live freely."

Many Colonials in the restaurant reacted as if it were a kick in the gut by a friend. For Helo, it was hope. It was time to accept the past and move on. For tomorrow was another day.

**ONE YEAR LATER**

**_Battlestar Mercury, Rachel Carey, Commanding_**

"Put it over there," Rachel said.  
_  
'Renovating means complete renovation, right?'_ thought Rachel. She was redecorating her quarters that she had lived in for the past year, on the excuse that the ship was going through an overhaul.

She hoped the movers didn't drop the leather sofa.

"Thank you. Is the computer here yet?"

"No, ma'am. It should be arriving shortly."

They left, and Rachel flopped down in her new couch.  
The glass cabinet held old Terran airplane models, looking very out of place in what had been designed as a Colonial battlestar. Spitfires and F-16s, Hellcats and 109s, planes that a Colonial officer would never have dreamed of. She had stocked about half of the bookshelf, instead of the glass she had seen in Apollo's quarters on the old Peggy the shelves were polished wood.

On the wraparound desk on the far side of the room sat a large model of _Pegasus_, a gift from Apollo. It had been a model kit released in Phoenix a while ago. The industries were really growing at a phenomenal rate. Decals could make the kit either the _Pegasus_ or the _Mercury_, depending on which one you liked.

The room, due to her choice of lighting fixtures, was warmer and had a light blue ambience. The bed, tucked around the corner, had a new mattress and duvet, not that she needed one with the regulated climate.

She shook her head. Back to business. The structural integrity was completed months ago while the computer upgrades were still underway. The launch tubes had just recieved another overhaul to match the specs Rachel had taken from _Pegasus_. Weapons were all converted to paser-based emitters, and the fixed guns were now torpedo tubes. She had twice the firepower she had been built with. The lettering on each flight pod has also been replaced, not only was it a little pockmarked but the registration number, CFCV-112, had to be added. The Galactica was now CFCV-111, after being accepted as a Colonial starship in the combined GTA Fleet. Admiralty was also pleased that Adama was now in the GTA, as Torias didn't have free reign anymore.

That wasn't the business she was attending to, though.

A ring at the door interrupted her thoughts. "Are we late?" asked Apollo on entering. Rachel leaned on the element next to the pot she was placing on the stove, burning her hand.

"No, I'm just about ready." Rachel said, trying to cool her hand by waving through the air.

Dee took a seat next to Apollo as Rachel started to bring over the pots. She had erected a small kitchen in an unused corner of the room. There was another ring at the door.

"Guess who?" said Benson, waving a bottle of scotch.

"Where'd you get that?" asked Apollo.

"Fresh batch came in this year. It's only a year and a bit old, but it should taste like something." He set the bottle down.

Rachel was interrupted by a phone buzzing. She walked over between her desks and picked up the phone. "Yeah, CO, whatsit?"

"Port launch tubes are complete, forward paser batteries are nearing completion, and the starboard ventral landing strip is complete. Can we resume training ops off the starboard pod?"

"Go ahead. CO out." She shook her head. Apollo laughed.

"The dull life of a battlestar commander." he said solemnly.

"I like the perks though. Where's Avery, he should be here by now." Rachel sat down on her new couch. "Anything on TV tonight?" she asked.

"I think there might be a hockey game," said Benson. "Phoenix Coyotes against the New Ottawa Senators. Or what about Aldland Canucks against the Aphrika Cougars?"

"Oh by the way, Sam, Anders has made it onto the Chicago Buccaneers." noted Apollo. Despite their common troubles with a certain Kara Thrace they were still keeping touch.  
"He's a born pyramid player, gotta admit that," said Dee.

"Turn on the Coyotes game, I want to see them pound New Ottawa." said Apollo. Dee looked sadly at him, for some obvious reasons, and some others she was keeping to herself. Rachel didn't notice. She picked up the remote and turned on the tube.

"5-3 New Ottawa!" shouted Benson. "Alright!"

"Who's in net?" asked Apollo, cringing at the score. In the year he had occupied Polaris, he had picked up a liking for the Canadian game, which had just started the year the Colonials arrived. There were even some Colonial players who had had enough skill to join, even though they had never played before.

"They switched, I think. Feodosiy, the backup." said Benson.

"We're losing to a backup?" groaned Apollo.

"We've got Andrejs too, remember? He's on the first line with McLaughlan."

"Just let the boys talk over their... Wait a minute." Rachel looked up as the door hissed open.

"Sorry, the port dorsal runway is closed for launch tube repair, so we were shunted the the ventral starboard strip. Took us longer to get up here." said Torias. "Ah, New Ottawa winning?" he said, looking at the TV.

Zhan sat down with Dee and Rachel. "Boys and their fun..." said Dee.

"It's not bad when you get used to it," said Zhan.

"How long have you been married?" asked Dee.

"Six years." said Zhan.

"You've been at it longer," said Dee, a little sadly. "I'll just have to keep at it."

"Hold on, chaps, I think we're being talked about." said Benson.

"So what?" said Apollo, who then shouted "Did you see that?" as a Coyote player flipped a shot that was miraculously stopped by Feodosiy.

"Some backup, eh?" cried Torias. "Personally I think he's the only one keeping us in the game. Our defence is not as good as our offence."

Dee looked back at her plate, then started eating again. She rolled her eyes. "Where were we, again?"

"How's the new ship?" asked Zhan. "Decided on a name yet?"

"And please don't call it _Pegasus_." finished Rachel.

"Tell that to him." Dee jerked a thumb at Apollo. "Personally I was banking on _Argo_ but he doesn't think it right for a ship. I also suggested _Equinox_, _Prometheus, Valiant, Hotspur_, and even _Victory_. He said he would think about it."

Rachel shook her head. "It's going to be _Pegasus_, I can feel it."

"I keep telling him that there should only be one ship to that name! Even if just in the _Mercury_-class."

"Why not call it the _Pegasus-B_?" asked Torias.

Apollo snapped his fingers. "Not bad," he said. "That might work."

"Thank you, Avery!" Dee said. "_Just_ what I needed. And besides, I like _Prometheus_ better!"

Rachel put her fork down. "I thought you liked _Argo_."

"I changed my mind."

"Score!" shouted Torias, causing everybody who wasn't watching the game to jump.

Apollo groaned loudly. "6-3? What happened to Phoenix?"

"Who's in net?" asked Torias.

"The number one goalie." said Apollo.

"Ouch!" said Benson.

"If you're done, I'll take the dishes," said Rachel, standing up. Torias, Apollo, and Benson hadn't touched the food much.

"Yeah, I'm done." said Benson anyway.

"Thank you," said Apollo, before turning back to the game.

**_Admiralty, Aphrika City  
_**  
"What's on today's schedule?" asked Adama. He tried to act as this were a normal meeting, but he knew it wasn't.

"Upgrades to the _Mercury_, _Galactica_'s restocking, the patrol route for the EU385, and the status of the new battlestar." listed off Henderson.

"Let's start with the _Galactica_, shall we?"

"This is a short notice, food stocks are at 75 and will be complete by tomorrow afternoon. By the way, _Mercury_ should be complete in two weeks. The EU385 is probably the longest item we have. How many circuits of Polaris should she make?"

"What's the standard?"

"Averages can be anywhere from 15 circuits (these are made at sublight, you remember) to a few years' worth for a well stocked battlestar. We've usually kept it down to 15 though. Helps families stay in touch."

"Amen to that," said Adama. "And what about the new ship?"

"Commander Adama and his XO have been discussing naming her, but haven't made a final decision as of yet. She is nearly full operational, twice as strong as _Mercury_ and at least as much firepower."

Adama looked at the list. "That's it?"

"Yes, sir." said Tohmara, newly promoted to Captain. Due to a flood of captains and not enough ships and admirals, she had been posted to Aphrika. Some postulated that the President would promote a new admiral

"I'll never get used to peace and quiet. Anyone seeing the pyramid game today?" asked Adama, trying to change the note of the meeting.

The formality fell away. Adama sometimes did this. "No, sir, but I'm sure the Hornets will take 'em." said Henderson.

"C-Bucs are stronger than you think."

"What, with Anders? He'll make that big a difference?"

"I know him. He will." Adama stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a wonderful year, but I'm afraid this is it."

"What are you going to do with your retirement?" asked Tohmara.

"I've got to improve my left hook. My son beat me again the other week." He chuckled, remembering the match. He unintentionally rubbed his cheek, which still bore traces of the bruise he had recieved. "Captain Henderson. You have the room." Adama saluted smartly, and turned to leave.

"Godspeed, Admiral." said Henderson, as Adama left the room for, as far as he was concerned, the last time.

**_Unnamed Battlestar, CFCV-113, CIC  
_**  
"The phase thingy goes over there, I'm telling you!" insisted Galen Tyrol, Galactica deck chief.

"But it would boost performance over here!" insisted Conolly. "Trust me, I work with these every day."

"New parts. Love 'em and hate 'em." muttered Tyrol.

"Look, this ship is similar to _Mercury_ in appearance only. And Mercury is being retrofitted so much that even _Atlantia_ is outdated. So just bear with us."

"Fine." Tyrol snapped.

"What are we arguing about now?" asked Jack Woodman, entering the CIC.

"Nothing," said Conolly.

"Yeah," agreed Tyrol.

"Okay, suit yourself. I think CIC is almost done. Should we perhaps turn our attention to Engineering?"

"If you want to," said Tyrol.

Woodman led Tyrol and Conolly through the winding halls of the ship, dodging arcs of sparks from the welding torches. They arrived at the Engineering hallway, which was uncovered, the wires and guts of the ship visible.

"Commander Conolly, there's a call for you." said the PA. "It's your wife."

Conolly shook his head. "Of all the times. Just a minute."

Conolly picked up the phone and started talking with Beverly Watson about something, but Tyrol couldn't guess what.

"When's the metal coming for here? We finished this a week ago," Tyrol asked Woodman motioning to the exposed wires and guts of the ship.

"I guess metal's been ticketed for the _Mercury_ renovation."

"That's stupid, we've been working on 113 for longer!"

"I'm not in charge here! I'm on loan from Tydeman Industries."

Tyrol stared at him. "Weren't you military?"

"I volunteered while we were on the run. I resigned after the war. I train nuggets when they need me."

"Bev, we agreed on the chinese tablecloth! Not the french one! The one Ruiwan gave us, that one! No! Not the french one!" Conolly sounded exasperated, as he almost shouted into the phone.

Tyrol looked over at Conolly. "That sounds painful."

"They have their moments." said Woodman.

"Finally!" Conolly hung up the phone. "What a time to call! Let's get to work already." 

_**Galleon Street North, Delphi, Homeworld Two**_

"Looks like your brothers have found a new home." said int-Six. She was once again invisible to everyone except him, and had been for the year it had taken to smuggle Baltar onto the planet without detection. Caprica's Baltar had also been invisible to him when they met again. She was also on the planet, but was hidden in the sanctuary district with the other Cylons.

"I'm here now. What do you want me to do?" asked Baltar.

"The mission is simple. God needs to regain reality to defeat the demons of darkness..." said int-Six.

"Oh, for god's sake! Didn't Derek say he'd tell me everything openly?"

"You take the fun out of everything," said Six, instantly changing outfits into a more natural boyish look, jeans and all. "God needs to escape from his realm to defeat the Lords Of Kobol. They have nothing that can break the seal from their side. This side is weaker, but there is only one device that can do it."

"They want me to find this device?"

"The device is only part of it. You and Caprica must gain the services of the Cylons to capture the Emerian device the Terrans have inherited. "

"The Cylons cannot leave the sanctuary district!"

"That will change sooner than you think. The device. It's called the Lienaied."

"What does it do?"

"On its own it allows FTL jumps between parallel universes, but that is useless too us. They are installing a Lienaeid on the new battlestar. The launching ceremony tomorrow will be your openeing. We also need a second piece, one that was designed on Kobol thousands of years ago."

"Is it here? How do I find it?"

"Find the man who stole it from Sagittaron. Find Tom Zarek."


	9. Chapter 10: Daughter Of The Stars

CHAPTER 10: Daughter Of The Stars

**_Battlestar Galactica Observation Deck, CFCV-113 Naming Ceremony_**

Catherine Torias, who had just celebrated her fourteenth birthday two weeks prior, stared out the large viewport at the spacedock. The powerful shape of the new battlestar, recently finished construction, was partly hidden behind the scaffolding like an animal stalking prey throught the forest.

"Cathy, we've got to go sit down now, it'll be starting soon," urged Torias, fiddling with a medal that had detached from his dress uniform. Catherine tore herself away from the window and followed Torias to the second row of seats, of which three Zhan was saving.

"Dad, how long until it starts?" asked Catherine impatiently.

"Uh, another two minutes. Hold your horses, it will start when it starts." Torias then seemed to forget everything he said as he looked at his watch.

The audience broke into applause as William Adama, in his last public appearence as Admiral, took the podium. He raised his hands, beckoning silence.

"The Cylons wars are now over." he said. "Our people are safe. We have found our brothers, and found new homes. We are safe from Cylon attack, surrounded by our new fleet. At last, our trials are over."  
No one asked humanity why it deserved to survive. We just kept fighting because we didn't know how to do anything else. But I don't believe it is for nothing. Through the horrors of the Exodus we must learn from our mistakes, and stop passing on our greed, spite, and past conflicts to our children. We may not deserve to survive, but I believe we must make sure they do. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Lee Adama, commander of the new battlestar and of the Colonial division of the Greater Terran Alliance star fleet."

The crowd burst into more applause as Lee Adama stepped from behind his father, taking his place. "I'm not usually one for long speeches, so I'll make this short. When the Cylons attacked us, I almost gave up. The only thing that kept most of us going was our knowledge of Earth, our knowledge that they would protect us. I'm proud to say that it has been proved true, and that we are closer to our original lives than we ever have been before.  
"I have decided then, to name this ship after an Earth ship with a name that will have meaning to Terrans and Colonials alike. I am talking about an airship named Daughter Of The Stars in an old Terran language."

He picked up a communicator from the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Terran battlestar _Shenandoah." _He opened the communicator and activated it. "This is _Shenandoah_ actual. Full power authorized. All ahead flank."

A glow emitted from the engine block of the _Mercury-_class ship, growing brighter as the engines came online for the first time since trials. The docking clamps parted, and the new flagship of the Colonial Fleet, one year in the making, floated out as gently as her namesake. When her flight pod was visible, a bright spotlight came on, allowing the name in block letters to be seen.

Lee Adama stared at his new ship, lost for words, as the crowd erupted in applause. Adama came over and laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "Congratulations, Commander Adama." And for that one second they forgot all about Zak, all about the schisms they'd had, and both looked with admiration at the new Colonial Fleet.

**_Sanctuary District B, Aphrika City_**

"Sharon?" cried Caprica, walking through the squalor that represented Cylon rights. The conditions weren't the greatest, but Caprica had to admit it was better than what the Colonials would have freely offered. An awaiting airlock.

Caprica eventually found Boomer in a food line, waiting to get whatever it was they offered. She looked well enough, but she hadn't seen a shower in months. Her hair was all over the place as her elastic had long since snapped, and her clothes were frayed and threadbare. Caprica ignored the angry Cylons behind her and stood beside Boomer.

"There's a line, buddy," Boomer said as she saw Caprica.

"I'm not after food. I want you, Sharon." said Caprica. The other Cylons didn't look any better than Boomer did. The line moved forward another foot.

"I haven't heard of a well-fed Cylon in months, and if you want to schedule a rebellion, I won't sanction it."

Caprica shook her head. "No rebellion. I just need a few Cylons to help me. You remember me?"

"You're right, I do know you! You thought we'd try to change the Cylons' ideas about humanity! And now look where I am! I could've escaped Caprica, and found New Caprica on my own! At least I'd feel better about myself that way!" She took a breath and calmed herself down. "These Cylons will only listen to me, and I will not let anyone disturb the peace like a Human woud do!"

"But look at these conditions! Sharon!" Caprica peladed. "They've locked you up and forgotten about you!"

Sharon abandoned her place in the line, which quickly filled up, and dragged Caprica to a corner. "The terms of our agreement were clear. We have to stay like this until the GTA declares us fit for integration. If we don't live up to that we'll stay longer. I've already had meetings with officials, and we'll be out in less than a week. So take your revolt somewhere else!"

Caprica didn't say a word. She saw the logic of her friend, but her mission was important. Boomer would believe her even less if she started spouting off about God and lienaieds. Sixes and Fours would listen more closely. And if they were being released soon, they wouldn't be listening to Boomer for much longer.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an officer of the Terran military. "Cylons!" he cried. "I have good news for you! As of this moment, you are free. All Cylons are required to proceed through the assay office to gain registration and pay numbers..."

Caprica melted into the crowd. The Cylons would soon be hers, provided the Colonials didn't interfere.

**_Battlestar Galactica, Admiral's Quarters_**

"Adama," said Adama into the comm as he cleared the last item off his desk into his suitcase. He'd never realized how much he'd settled into these quarters until he'd actually tried to pack up. Tomorrow he would resign, and move to Delphi.

"Bill, I've just got word from Delphi." said Commander Tigh, now in command of the ship. He didn't sound happy.

"What is it, Saul?" Adama asked.

"They've just closed the sanctuary districts. The Cylons are free, including Boomer."

Every time Adama found out about the Terrans' attitude towards Cylons it was a kick in the gut. This one felt like a horse.

"They walk? Just like that?! How could we have let that happen!?"

"Zarek has complained, but since the Cylons have been ordered to stay out of Colonial territory Nariyan doesn't feel that the Cylons should be mistreated inside Terran borders."

"We've warned them, and they've ignored us. We show them New Caprica, and they grant asylum to the occupiers. They've crossed the line this time, Saul."

"What am I supposed to do about it Bill?" asked Tigh, exasperated.

"You... You call me sir."

Adama slammed the phone down and stormed out of his office, his posture silently screaming _get out of my way_ to everyone he saw. What could he do? The Terrans were his allies. They gave him a home, and protection. Should he do something he'd regret?

_I'm doing it to save them from the Cylons. There will be collaterals, but in the long run...  
_

He stalked into CIC, taking up his old position he'd occupied since the first Exodus. "Commander Tigh, contact _Shenandoah_ and _Mercury_ on Colonial frequency priority one. Tell them to seal all Terran crewmen in their quarters, and then do the same here. All decks to condition two, and put weapons grid to standby."

"Admiral, what are you doing?" asked Tigh. "You're crazy! We can't face the firepower they have over a bunch of toasters!"

"That's exactly why I have to face them," Adama said, the image of Boomer's gun barrel firing at his chest springing vividly to life, the image of Leoban Conoy swinging at him with a large pipe, or Shelley Godfrey trying to confuse him with evidence against Baltar. He saw his wife before a radioactive cloud erased her. He'd faced too much pain. He would let them off the hook.

"I want them to die," he hissed. And no one argued.

**_Battlestar Mercury CIC_**

CIC of _Mercury_ was full of Terran officers (even if it was only two), and that probably saved the ship.

"Sir, we're getting a wireless message from _Galactica_ on Colonial frequency, priority one." said Leftenant Candice Hayes, the only other officer on duty, sitting at Tactical. Most of the other stations were empty as mere crewmen worked in the background.

"Can you decode it?" asked Rachel.

"Our computers can, but none of the Terran systems will even detect it as communication. The Colonials have been using subspace for months now."

"It's almost like they don't want us to hear them..." said Rachel. "Hayes, status of the Marines?" she asked with a growing feeling of unease.

"They're moving, sir... Correction, only Colonial troops." said Hayes, puzzled. "But they don't have any orders to."

"Orders? You're trying to decode them." said Rachel. She strode over to the doors of CIC and tapped in a password into the keypad. "Lockdown in progress, computer, seal all hatches." She slapped the activation control with her palm as all the doors into CIC locked and the computer verbally listed off the hatches sealing all over the ship. Rachel picked up a communicator. "Sergeant Thompson, we have a situation. Thompson, respond."

Hayes tried reaching all the Terran marines, but they weren't responding. "Commander, the Colonial Marines are still moving through the ship."

Rachel saw a squad outside of CIC punching numbers into the keypad. With only a few seconds she leaned towards the mic. "Computer, revoke all Colonial passcodes, authorization Carey-baker-one. Execute."

"Marine movements at choke points has stopped." reported Hayes.

"Hayes, I'm unarmed. How are we for ammunition?"

Hayes ran over to check the weapons locker on the far side of the room. "We've got one pistol with no mag... and all of one explosive round. We can take out a grand total of one soldier with a head shot."

Rachel leaned against the plot table. "Hayes, initiate counter-insurgency program level three. Neurozine gas. The Colonials don't know about that, and if they do, prepare to initiate level four."

Level four involved venting the captured sections into space. They couldn't do that to their allies. Except they didn't seem to be allies anymore.

**_CSS Laurier_**

"It's open!" cried Torias as the door chime rang. He was in his ready room going over some security procedures for the Cylon release. His desk was covered with clipboards and paper, both with corners and without.

"What is it, Sam?" Torias asked as he saw Benson walk in. The way Benson was walking indicated trouble, and Torias hoped that they didn't have another Cylon problem to deal with.

"Admiral, we've just lost contact with _Galactica_ and _Shenandoah."_

"It's probably nothing," said Torias.

"Avery, that's not all. There was a burst of radio waves beforehand,"

Torias looked up at him, comprehension dawning. The Cylon release! He rose and headed for the door.

_"Mercury _also initiated a counter-insurgency program four minutes ago. Rachel reports that flight ops can be resumed at a lower level now that the hostiles are out."

They were striding fast along the corridor now, heading to the bridge.

Another crewman rushed by, handing Benson a report. "Admiral," Benson said as he read the padd, "_Galactica_ has powered up her weapons array to standby. They've gone to condition two."

Torias and Benson entered the bridge at a run. Zhan stood up from the conn. "Avery, _Galactica_ and _Shenandoah _have moved out of orbit and are repositioning. What they are doing is beyond us at the moment."

"Ruiwan, they're responding," said Torias. "We released the Cylons, and President Zarek hasn't been too happy with that. I'm guessing we've really pissed off Adama."

"You think he's behind this?" asked Benson. "Would he really use force? That seems like an overreaction to me."

"I don't know anyone who has had as many bad experiences with Cylons as Adama. He was shot by one, for frak's sake. He's not going to stand by and allow them to walk if he has anything to do with it. Remember, these people have been running longer than we ran after Earth got nuked. They've been rewriting laws and pushing Cylons out airlocks while we were still living out of tents. They haven't had the luxury of security the way we have, and I think our inclusive agenda has terrified them."

"But what can he do?" asked Benson.

"He could launch every nuke he's got at the sanctuary district, and destroy the Cylons once and for all."

**_Galactica CIC_**

"All decks to condition one, all hands to action stations. Prepare to launch Vipers."

"Admiral!" cried Kelly from tactical. "_Shenandoah_ actual is on the line."

"Open a direct line with the Marine duty officer in CIC, and keep it open until I say so. Put Apollo through here." Adama raised the reciver to his ear, anticipating the response.

"Admiral, what's going on?" asked Apollo from _Shenandoah's_ CIC. "My third in command seems to have orders to attack_ Laurier._"

"Commander, I have resumed command of the fleet following the release of the Cylons from the sanctuary districts." said Adama. "You are ordered to attack the Terrans."

"What!? Admiral, this isn't just one battlestar we're taking on. You're letting your personal feelings override your judgement!"

_"_I took on Admiral Cain and the _Pegasus,_ and if that's not a superior force, I'm not an Admiral."

"This is a suicide mission! You open fire and they might not show mercy! This is an entire star fleet we're talking about here! And we have two ships!"

"They were quick enough to show mercy to the Cylons!" snapped Adama. "You know what _they_ are! Nothing justifies what the Cylons did!"

"If you go through with this, you'll be no better than they are. And I can't follow you where you're leading us. I don't agree with the decision any more than you do, but there has to be a better way of resolving this with people who have given so much for us!"

Adama closed the line. "Captain Kelly, contact the duty officer in CIC and terminate Adama's command."

**_CSS Laurier_**

"They're launching Vipers!" shouted Benson. "Their weapons grid is at full power!"

"Target their engines and weapons and lock the coordinates into the main computer. Raise shields. All decks to battlestatus red, all decks to battlestations, this is no drill." Torias turned to Zhan. "Get _Mercury_ and _Voltaic_ up here, we're going to need fighter cover. And may the gods forgive us."

Zhan and Benson both looked at Torias. By quoting Colonial religion, he admitted that he figured this would end one of two ways: they would either frighten the Colonials into talking or they would pound them into submission.

**_Mercury CIC_**

"Put _Shenandoah_ onscreen." ordered Rachel. She had disabled the lockout and the battlestar was runnng on half strength.  
They were safe, for now, until the gas wore off. Then they'd have problem inmates.

"Vipers away!" reported Hayes.

"Who's in command of the squadron?" asked Rachel.

"Starbuck and Showboat."

"Starbuck. Oh great..." said Rachel.

"_Galactica_ has opened fire on _Laurier!_ No damage reported!" shouted Hayes.

"Now we've crossed the line. Can we step back?" Rachel muttered to herself. "Open fire on _Galactica!"_

_**Galactica CIC**_

CIC was a disaster. Cables and scaffolding hung everywhere, several fires had started, and sparks flew. Systems were dying left right and centre as _Laurier_ pounded them again and again with energy weapons and torpedoes. So far they had only targeted the weapons and engines. Soon they would be stranded and defenseless.

"Orders, sir?" shouted Kelly, blood streaming from a cut on his forehead. He gripped the tactical console as CIC tilted wildly. The artificial gravity readjusted and the inertial dampeners came back online.

"Load tubes one through six!" shouted Adama. "Input targeting package Silent Canyon into the computer and set ground zero for Aphrika city."

Tigh rushed down from the upper levels. "Bill! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm getting ready to nuke the planet."

"What about the Terrans? That's the most populous city on both Homeworlds!" Tigh was almost shouting now. He had no qualms about using the military to enforce order, but targeting civilians was beyond even him.

"Send an immediate evacuation order but tell them to leave the Cylons and escape by ground. If they remove the Cylons we'll launch every nuke we've got and level the surrounding countryside."

"What's gotten into you? I haven't seen you this worked up since you and Cain got fighting."

Adama's glare cut Tigh short. "That was professional. This is personal, me and the Cylons. I'm not gonna be happy until they surrender or they're dead."

**_CSS Laurier_**

"I'm getting a radiation alert from the _Galactica!_ They're opening their missile doors!"

"Torias to armory! Load the photonic torpedoes!"

The next step up in high explosives saw copious amounts of antimatter mixed with equal amounts of heavy hydrogen to produce a sizable bang. They hadn't been used in the liberation of New Caprica, as they were still experimental.

"Adama, listen up. This is Torias aboard _Laurier_ and I know you can hear me. I also know you're about to launch nukes at the Cylon sanctuary district in Aphrika City. If one nuke enters the atmosphere, I have fifteen photonic torpedoes ready to blow you to pieces. So we can either talk about your mandate to survive, or we can blow each other up, take your pick."

"Sir, he's into the snapcount. We've got two minutes before he launches!" shouted Benson.

"Dammit Bill, this is what the Cylons _want_ us to do! They _want_ us to fight each other! They would love nothing more than for us to _destroy_ you and get wounded in the process! Think about the long term! That's why we let them go!" Torias listened for the answer that didn't come.

"Still no answer, Avery," said Zhan quietly. "Ninety seconds."

"Commander Benson," said Torias, as if in a trance. "Launch of photonic weapons is now authorized."

* * *

To Be Continued... 

This is an homage to both Pegasus and The Eye Of Jupiter. I love the idea of two allies turning on each other, and I included nukes to spice things up. I just hope I can have them back down without looking scripted. I also hope Adama isn't overreacting _too_ much, I mean, he completely lost it when one Cylon (Sharon) showed up on Kobol. Imagine what he would do if he found that the actual Sharon that shot him is free to roam around his new home. And he doesn't like the other Cylons any better.

_Shenandoah_ was a US Navy airship under the command of Zachary Landsdowne. Is was destroyed in a freak storm over Ohio.


	10. Chapter 11: Through The Looking Glass

Sorry for the long hiatus. I've had several school events come and go, and I needed to think about where I'm going next.

* * *

_The daughter of the stars will carry the Bow of Artemis and will bring about the Reckoning..._

CHAPTER 11: Through the Looking Glass

_**CSS Laurier**_

It had become strangely peaceful once _Galactica_ had gone into snapcount. _Laurier_ had damaged most of their other weapons, so the space between them had only Vipers to fill it. The shielding on _Laurier_ had been restored to half strength, so they would be safe unless Adama launched a nuke at them.

Torias stood beside tactical, taking a key from around his neck. Benson did the same, inserting it into the panel. They both turned the keys at the same time, and a red light flashed. The torpedoes were now armed.

"The launch codes will take a second to process," said Benson. "_Galactica_ has already armed her nukes. Sixty seconds to launch."

"Lock targets." ordered Torias.

Time passed, and the timer neared zero.

"They're launching! Wait! Correction, the launch command was entered, but the nukes haven't launched, repeat, the nukes have not launched." reported Benson.

"Perhaps he's changed his mind after all." mused Torias.

**_Galactica CIC_**

"What do you mean malfunction?" said Adama, holding back his frustration by pounding the plot table with one fist.

"Both the mains and the backups are gone. They must have been damaged in the attack." said Tigh, closing the commlink to Damage Control.

Adama stared at the image of _Laurier_ on the DRADIS console. It certainly was one hell of a ship, even he had to admit that. He was beaten cleanly.

He snatched up the phone on the plot table. "All right, Admiral, you've won." he said. "We can either stand down, or we can start shooting again, it's your call."

"You think I'm going to order my ships to fire? No, there are more _civilized_ ways of dealing with this. Shall we meet in New Picon?"

"No Terran escorts, I want the President of the Colonies to decide what must be done." Adama then mentally backtracked, realizing what he had just said. He wanted Tom Zarek, convicted criminal, to decide his future. Zarek hadn't been doing such a crap job so far, but the Terrans had pretty much run the show. Three years ago he would have laughed at the very idea.

"Agreed. In the capital, with both presidents. Half an hour." said Torias. Another fact Adama had to concede. Torias had the upper hand.

Adama replaced the reciever. "Recall all Vipers, stand down to condition two and close all missile tubes."

**_Galactica, Crew Quarters_**

"The things I do for you, Sharon," Helo said as he sneaked back through the hatch. "They may forgive you for aiding the Cylons under threat, but they'll never forgive me."

"This wasn't just for the Cylons, Helo. This was for humanity as a whole."

"That's what I kept telling myself." Helo replied as he embraced his wife. "But to tell you the truth, I was more worried about our daughter. If we were blasted to bits, who would protect her?"

"We don't have to worry about that now," said Sharon, breaking away. "They won't find the fault for days, and by then things will have changed."

"I hope so. I don't want Hera to remember me in a jail cell for the rest of her life."

"I won't tell them if you won't." said Sharon.

**_Delphi, Homeworld Two_**

Adama sat beside Tigh on one side of the large briefing table in the President's residence, 24 Carlman street. On the other sat Torias and Tohmara of the GTA fleet. Lee Adama was also beside them. At the head of the table sat presidents Nariyan and Zarek.

"Let's cut to it, shall we?" said Zarek. "We have been searching for Earth for almost three years. Then, when Earth makes a choice we don't agree with, we try to force them to agree with us. Simply put, you tried to nuke them, Admiral."

"I can't allow..." started Adama.

"Admiral, you are in a position to demand nothing." Zarek said calmly. "The Terrans have superior firepower and numbers, and if forced to they will use them. That is how things stand, no matter how you look at it." He breathed in. "Now I'm sure you could go up there and duke it out, but you wouldn't last too long for round two."

"Admiral, we would rather not fire on you." said Nariyan. "But you were the one who started this. We believe in equal opportunity and second chances. If you can't agree with this, then you should find yourself another planet." Nariyan collected his thoughts for a second. "And besides, I thought humanity was beyond such things."

"The Cylons are a clear and present danger to the security of our race. There are no two ways about it," said Adama.

"You might not have had the time to debate the finer points of ethics while running day after day," said Nariyan, "but surely the spirit of the law requires something more than summary execution."

Adama almost visibly reacted to that. Two years ago, two days after the discovery of _Pegasus_ and the following confrontation, President Roslin had said the same thing to Admiral Cain, this time concerning two of Adama's officers who had killed one of Cain's officers. He had been pleased when she had said that, being on what he considered the winning side. Now that it was being turned on him without any change spoke volumes about his actions.

When it came to the Cylons, in the end even he could become as impulsive as Cain had been.

This had two effects. One was a subtle change in the way he regarded her. She had gone through great lengths to keep her crew alive and to hurt the Cylons as much as possible. But it also showed a part of himself he tried to hide. The part that desperately wished for revenge.

"Admiral Adama, you are relieved pending charges." said Zarek. "Commander Adama,"

"Yes, Mr. President." said Apollo.

"You have been restored to command of the Colonial Division aboard_ Shenandoah. _You may commence repairs immediately."

As Torias and Tohmara rose in their seats the two heads of state left the room. "Why were we even here?" asked Torias under his breath. "We were silent the whole time."

"You weren't taking notes?"

"Hmm. Must have missed that part. Seemed more like a telling off really."

Tohmara glanced around to make sure she wouldn't offend anyone, and said "I think Zarek pulled a few strings to keep Adama active. I'm sure he feels the same way but can't admit it publicly."

"It makes sense." said Torias. "I suppose they can bump him down a rank or two."

"A little lax, but I understand his motives."

"We'll see."

_**Shenandoah, Port Flight Pod**_

"Name?" asked the Terran marine. Lined up in front of him were the repair teams assigned from the surface under the general authority of Jack Woodman.

"Carson, William."

The marine noted that, and moved on. "Name?"

"Adolf, Dannie."

"Atwoti, Simon."

The marine checked the register. "I don't see you here... Are you sure you're not assigned to _Galactica_?"

Simon shrugged. _"_They told me to come here, so here I am."

"I'll check it up. Anyway, you can proceed into the ship. If we find out anything we'll let you know."

Simon continued along the hall, a little guilty for taking advantage of the trusting Terrans, but branched off as soon as he was out of sight. He was lucky none of his compatriot models interacted with Humans during the occupation of New Caprica. Now that one of his superiors (Caprica) had shown up again, he was more than happy to obey. He felt a twinge for the other Cylons who were more eager at the chance of living peacefully with humans, but God had spoken.

And He had mentioned the lienaied, newly installed on the _Shenandoah._

_**Basestar CBS Goliath, Orbit of New Caprica**_

Three sat in the control room of the _Goliath_, pondering over her next move. The command console glowed with checkered colours, mysterious and beautiful.

The ship was completely in control of the Threes, and had been ever since they had taken it. The Cylon Empire had fractured into civil war between models with differing ideas and ideals. The Cavils, Dorals, Simons, and Sharons had grouped on one side while the Conoys, Biers, and Godfreys had joined one the other. It had all started when a routine council meeting had ended with a disagreement between a Cavil and a Three. This was unheard of for the Cylons. Three theorized that despite the society based on complete and total equality they had created, they're programming was so close to humans that they simply could not survive without either a leader or a unifying cause. It was the way they were designed, no matter how they looked at it.

Without a cause (exterminating the humans) the Cylons were falling apart. For once the Humans were better at something.

Her crew of identical twins were reprogramming the Raiders and Centurions to attack other Cylon ships. But they were outnumbered by the Atheist Cylon Forces. God hadn't spoken to them in almost a year, and even the Conoys had been hard pressed to interpret anything from events. Even the Hybrid was making more sense these days.

Something big was going to happen. And unless her model was to be hunted down to extinction, she needed to ally with her only hope.

The course of the Cylon civil war would depend on who reached the Humans first, or if God gave them another cause. Reproduction had been a flop, exterminating the humans hadn't gone according to plan, and terraforming the radioactive rock that was Caprica had been abandoned. The Cylons were beginning to develop an inferiority complex. They couldn't get anything done right. Frak, they couldn't get anything _done._

Strange, isn't it, how things turn out?

Three was interrupted by one of her crew. "Captain, we have new recon photos of the Polaris region. The new battlestar was scanned more this time."

"What have you learned?" asked Three.

Three-B shook her head. "They're hiding something on that ship. We just don't know what it is."

"Could it be one of the Terran lienaieds?"

"No, we detected that. They've thrown up a dampening field around the midsection of the ship."

"Can we contact any agents in the area?" asked Three.

"All agents have gone silent. Most of them are integrating into Terran society and are refusing to answer..."

"...and having better quality of living as a result. The minute that ship leaves orbit I want to jump in and plant an agent. We have to find out what's going on. Maybe it's a weapon we can use against the Atheists. If they jump away, we'll have to wait until they return."

"Then God help them..." said Three-B.

**_Troy, New Picon_**

Laura Roslin had dismissed the class fifteen minutes earlier, so the knock at the classroom door surprised her. The person behind the door surprised her even more.

"Admiral!" she said in surprise, as Adama looked around the classroom.

"Commander, actually. I somehow didn't expect you to sit around and do nothing while the Cylons are running loose."

Roslin put hands on her hips. "Oh, so this is about that, is it? They're not even on this planet, they have no weapons and yet you almost nuked our allies! You're lucky they didn't put you on ice for the next fifty years!"

Adama narrowed his eyes as he stared at her. "What's happened to you? You've become passive, when two years ago you were shoving prisoners out airlocks!"

"It's not like I had much of a choice, Bill!" She shook her head. "It was either them or us. Not anymore." She calmed herself down, exhaling deeply. "And besides, how many parents want their childs teacher to have a rap sheet?" She smiled slightly.

Adama sighed. "Things just aren't that easy anymore. You know, I was going to retire this morning. Hang up my uniform. Guess that's not going to happen now, is it?"

"Commander, there is always work to be done. You've got to stop micromanaging everything to your ideals. Let the world decide for itself, and give others a chance to learn."

"Now you sound like a teacher." said Adama. "I'll think about it. I don't suppose you would mind me retiring here, if the time comes?"

Now Roslin smiled fully. "I could always use the company."

The phone in the corner of the room rang, shattering the uncomfortable silence that followed.

"That's probably the principal. He can't stop buggin me about my gym schedule."

"I'm sure."

Roslin picked up the phone, answering it. She held the phone with white knuckles as she replaced it. "Bill, turn on the television."

Adama turned on the television hanging over the teacher's desk. And stared in disbelief as he saw smoke and fire from multiple areas on Homeworld One.

_"The group has not named itself, but rumours of Cylon involvement continue to simmer. The demands the group has made doesn't seem to make any sense at this time, but a man named Baltar has demanded that President Zarek hand over something called a Bow Of Artemis. Experts from Canadian and German provinces are trying to decipher what this means._ _If Zarek does not comply, Baltar has threatened to resume attacks._"

"The Bow of Artemis..." said Roslin in an awed tone. "It was supposedly made with the Arrow of Apollo, but nobody knew what it was for, and it was only mentioned in Scripture as..." she trailed off.

"As what? Is this in the book of Pythia?"

"It was the prelude to the Reckoning between the Demon and the gods." said Roslin. "There is nothing after that. Either they could not predict it or there was nothing to predict."

"Considering that Baltar was killed on New Caprica, yet is standing before us now, I'm ready to believe quite a bit right now."

_**Delphi, New Picon, Homeworld Two**_

"But they can't possibly expect you to agree. What are the chances you have that artifact?" asked Apollo.

Zarek stared at his desk. "It was placed on board the _Astral Queen_ with all my personal belongings to be returned to Caprica. I still have it."

"Then give it to them!" insisted Apollo.

"The trouble is you're right. As things stand I have no choice."

Apollo's cellphone chirped, so he had to break off his conversation with the President. "Commander Adama."

"Adama, this is Admiral Torias. I presume you've heard of the demand."

Apollo moved towards the back of the office. "The President is going to agree to the demand and hand over the bow."

"Is there anything special about this bow?" asked Torias.

"We haven't a clue what it's made of, but apart from that it's just a big solid ornament. It's not even a very good bow."

"There's no harm in giving it over?"

"I can't see any problems." said Apollo. "Zarek only wanted it to get attention for Sagittaron, and now that all the Colonies are gone he has no further use for it."

"I want you to find a way to have it tracked. I want to to capture Baltar alive, see if he's really a Cylon."

"Do you think that's really the answer?" asked Apollo. "He's been around for years. We have his birth records and everything. I can't see him as a Cylon."

"What are you suggesting then? Supernatural involvement?"

"Back on Caprica I would have thought it crazy as well, but I've seen a lot since then. It's too soon to rule out any one answer just because we don't happen to like it."

"Time travel, alternate universes, those I can believe. But Supernatural? That's impossible."

"Is that _your_ religion, Admiral?" asked Apollo. "Let's investigate first. Adama out." He turned to the President. "Mr. Zarek, shall we proceed as quickly as possible?"

**_Admiralty, Aphrika City_**

"We still have the Bow on tracker, Admiral." said Tohmara, handing another progress report to Torias. "They've boarded an unregistered Raptor and are leaving the surface."

"Destination?" asked Torias.

"Their FTLs haven't started running up, so it's somewhere in orbit."

Torias snapped his fingers at one of the operations officers. "Ships in the vicinity?" He turned his attention back to the report. "Baltar wasn't personally at the transfer," he mumbled to himself, "...in fact, no one was. Strange."

"We have only one object in orbit, sir. They must be heading for the _Shenandoah."_

"What? How's that possible?" said Torias.

"Unless the Cylons have a cloaked ship..." suggested Tohmara.

"We only just invented the tchnology ourselves, they can't possibly have it." said Torias. "Do not contact _Shenandoah,_ but put _Mercury_ on alert. I want to see how this pans out."

"The Raptor has entered the port flight pod." reported Tohmara.

"Admiral, the _Shenandoah_ is not responding to any of our coded hails."

"Infiltrate the Nav computer just in case they try to jump away." ordered Torias, fearing that CIC was compromised.

"They're trying to do just that, sir."

"Where are they jumping to?" asked Torias.

"It looks like a normal section of... We lost the link!"

Torias had to think quick. "That's it, all starships converge and attack. Did we get the coordinates?"

"They've been placed into memory. There seems to be an extra string of data, sir." said Tohmara, confused.

Torias only needed one glance to figure out what was happening. "They're lienaied coordinates. They're not using the FTLs." He turned towards the exit. "Have a shuttle standing by to take me to _Laurier._ Where's Commander Adama?"

"He's down in the Capital of New Picon, but William Adama is en-route to _Galactica_."

"Contact him and tell him to approach _Laurier_ as soon as possible." Torias needed fighter support if he was going to take on the Cylons, and _Mercury_ was on the other side of the planet under full steam towards _Shenandoah_. The ancient battlestar was now his only option, damaged or not.

**_Battlestar Shenandoah, CIC_**

Gaius Baltar was annoyed at the lack of chairs in the CIC. The small Cylon crew (wearing gas masks that prevented the neurozine gas from rendering them unconcious) had networked the computers and readied the ship to jump when the orbital defense network suddenly mobilized. Faced with overwhelming odds, Baltar had ordered an emergency jump. Unknown to him, the lienaied was online as a result of his early attempts to remove it. Also unknown to him were the consequences of using it. He had only heard of the Dravidiiams in passing, but he was about to "summon" them once again into our timeline.

The ship jumped, and it felt like a normal FTL jump. Baltar didn't worry.

The DRADIS screen showed otherwise.

A task force labelled BSG-41, comprising of four cruisers and two battlestars, was keeping station to their port. The DRADIS screen identified them as the battlestars _Valkyrie_ and _Chimera._ Baltar knew this was impossible.

"Are you seeing these ships?" he asked to no one in particular. Caprica looked up at the DRADIS screen.

"We destroyed those ships,"she said. "Yet here they are."

"This is a special place," said int-Six. "In fact, this is my home."

Baltar looked at Caprica, guessing that her Baltar was saying the same thing. She returned the stare as the first explosive shells impacted the hull of the _Shenandoah._

* * *

I hope this is different from any other BSG epic so far. This is something that has never been done as far as I'm concerned, and I hope it turns out to be interesting. 


	11. Chapter 12: In a Mirror, Darkly

CHAPTER 12: In a Mirror, Darkly

**THREE YEARS EARLIER**

_The Twelve Colonies were settled more than a thousand years__ after the Exodus from Kobol. _

_Then the day came when one alliance launched a surprise attack on the others._

_After a long and bloody war a truce was declared._

_A remote space station was built, a place where the Caprican Alliance could meet with the Gemenese Confederacy._

_There has been no military activity from the Gemenese for the past forty years._**  
**

**_Armistice Station_**

It was tiring, sitting in this space station day after day as he had been for the past two years. They rotated the officers in and out every three years, so he had only one more year of purgatory. Paddy Donaldson was his name.

Strewn in front of him were the classifications of Gemenese small-arms, basestars, and the treaty which had kept them apart all these years.

He forgot everything else the moment that the last thing he expected occured. The grand double doors at the end of the hall hissed open.

All he could hear was his own breathing and the footfalls of combat boots. Two marines in black combat gear took their places on either side of the door.

They stopped moving, and he heard the sharp taps of drill shoes as a tall brunette in a jet black uniform strode down the hall. She stopped with a smart click in front of him.

"I am Commander Helena Cain of the Gemenese Basestar _Pegasus, _of the Tauron division"

"Donaldson. Leftenant Donaldson of the Caprica Defense Net." Donaldson stuttered.

"Hmm. I guess you haven't had a lot of... action... lately, have you?" said Cain, picking up a picture on his desk and looking at it closely.

"No, thankfully." said Donaldson. Things were going better than he expected.

"Yes. Thankfully is right." Cain took a deep breath and put down the picture before going on. "I have been given an order to destroy this station, but I want to give you the chance to live, even if I am disobeying a direct order."

So much for kind relations.

"Am I supposed to surrender?" asked Donaldson.

"Either that or be killed. I suggest you pick the former."

"I'd rather die... than surrender to you..." said Donaldson, with what he thought was one last desperate act of patriotism.

"I thought you'd say that. But you're coming anyway." she said. She didn't flinch as the marines sank two stun charges into him.

"Cain to _Pegasus,_ four to beam up..." said Cain, before the _Mercury-_class basestar destroyed the empty station.

**THREE YEARS LATER**

**_Battlestar Galactica, Orbit of Homeworld Two, Our Timeline  
_**

"Commander on deck!" announced Tigh as Adama entered CIC.

"As you were," said Adama. "Saul, come here."

"What is it now? What happened to Apollo's ship?" asked Tigh. "He wasn't on it, was he?"

"He was. He'd flown up before Zarek completed the transfer. He'd expected Cylon involvement, but it was actually a splinter group from the surface of Homeworld One."

"My gods. You were right all along." exclaimed Tigh.

"Roslin's worried about some mythical reckoning, but I'm more worried about Baltar and the lienaied. I keep hearing stories about it, and it's not all good."

"So how do we follow him?" asked Tigh. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to find him and blow him out of the sky. _Laurier's _coming along." Adama looked Tigh in the eye. "Do you understand what we're doing? We are going where no Colonial has ever been before, beyond the universe. I'm not sure I believe it myself, but that's the way things stand."

"Let's get on with it already. All this suspense can't be good for my heart."

Adama laughed and slapped Tigh on the shoulder. "Commence lienaied jump prep."

**_Laurier Bridge, Our Timeline  
_**

"Admiral on the bridge!" announced a familiar voice.

"Leftenant Sharon Agathon!" Torias called out. "What are you doing here?"

"Sir?" asked Sharon. "I was posted here. And my name is Sharon Valerii. Callsign's Boomer."

"Sam..." Torias started.

"Meet the new helmsman, er, helmswoman. She's recieved an honourary promotion to leftenant." He pulled Torias aside as Boomer sat back at the helm. "We had to run a few neural scans to make sure there's no programming. She's clean."

"Excellant!" said Torias. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Sharon Valerii, the first Cylon in the Canadian Fleet."

The bridge burst out in applause, and Boomer turned deep red. "Thank you," she stammered, overwhelmed.

"Helm," said Torias, "Commence lienaied jump prep. Jump on my mark."

"Coordinates layed in, Admiral." replied Benson.

"Relay signal to _Galactica._ Jump!"

**_Battlestar Shenandoah, Alternate Timeline_**

Another shell hit the ship. "Fire all torpedoes! Shields up, Jump, abandon ship!" shouted Baltar, eyes wide with fear. There probably was no Resurrection Ship in this timeline, and he didn't want to find out for sure.

"Can we signal our surrender?" asked Caprica.

"What about the executive officer?" asked Simon. "Get her up here."

"You think she's recovered?" asked Caprica, looking pitifully at Baltar, cowering in a corner.

"I hope she is." said Simon, as he walked to the hall where the prisoners from CIC were fastened. He brought Dualla into the room.

"Leftenant Dualla," said Caprica. "We have no intention of hurting you, but we need you to activate the weapons system."

"No..." she mumbled firmly, still under the effects of the knockout gas the Cylons had used to immobilize CIC.

"Please, leftenant. We need your help!" Caprica urged as the ship rocked again.

"This is getting us nowhere!" said Simon impatiently, and turned on a monitor on the ceiling. "Dualla, look at the monitor. Do you see your husband? If you do not release control of the weapons to us we will vent him into space!"

Dualla slowly blinked, mumbling something incoherent.

"Simon, no!" urged Caprica. "This is inhumane!"

"We're _not_ human!" said Simon. "And neither are you! This is our mandate to survive, and we must use every option!"

"I won't let you do it!" said Caprica.

Simon pulled a gun on her. "Dualla, choose now!"

"The access code is... 1345-443-33." Dualla said before falling unconcious in Caprica's arms.

Simon relayed the numbers into the conn while Caprica took a medkit from the wall. "Simon, she couldn't handle that in her weakened state!" Caprica hissed. "She's going into shock!"

"She gave us what we needed."

Caprica snatched up the gun Simon had put on the plot table and shot him. "Gaius!" Caprica said. "We have to go!"

"Where?" he asked, still catatonic. He winced as another shell hit the hull.

"Away, in a Raptor." Caprica dragged him out of CIC. "We've got to get the lienaied off this ship!"

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

When Dualla awoke a second time five minutes later all was silent. CIC was empty, except for the body of Simon on the plot table. Dualla struggled to keep her feet under her, when the doors to CIC hissed open. Two marines charged in, weapons cocked.

"Hey, hey!" Dualla called weakly, taking a staggering step towards them. She collapsed again.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Can you hear me?"

Dualla struggled to keep her eyes open. The person she saw almost made her want to shut her eyes again, both for who she was and for the impossibility of her mere presence. "Admiral Cain?"

Cain shot her a surprised look. "I am Admiral Cain. I wasn't aware we'd met."

"Dee?" asked another voice. Dualla blinked and turned her head to see Apollo sitting beside Cain.

"Where am I?" asked Dualla.

"You are aboard the Gemenese Basestar _Pegasus,_ currently beside your ship." said Cain. "It's quite impressive, I assure you. It held off two Caprican battlestars for almost ten minutes." she continued with admiration. "I meant to ask you about her. That ship, though identical to mine, is armed with weapons I've never seen before."

"Can we step outside, Admiral?" asked Apollo. Cain nodded, leaving sickbay.

"I can't ask this any more discretely, Commander," said Cain. "Where are you from and who are you?"

Apollo didn't know how to respond. Claiming that he was from Caprica would be suicide on this ship. "My name is Lee Adama," he said.

"You're not related to William Adama, are you?"

"Not the one you're thinking of," said Apollo, panic rising and falling within him. He was walking a very fine line. He didn't know if she'd belive the truth, and the lienaied was missing from the _Shenandoah. _He was trapped here, for the moment.

"Adama, there is no _Shenandoah_ in the Gemenese Fleet." said Cain. "I also happen to know there is no ship of that name belonging to Caprica, either. So again, Commander, where are you from?"

"I don't think you'll believe me..."

"Try me."

Apollo collected his thoughts, and then started. "I am from another timeline, a place similar to this, but different. The people are the same, the situation is different. You, for example, we've met before. In our universe you were killed by a Cylon prisoner, and two years later _Pegasus_ was destroyed rescuing colonists from New Caprica."

"How can I trust you?" asked Cain. "You could just be claiming this to save your skin. I'm rather well known among Caprican forces."

"Your quarters. There are no places to sit." said Apollo. "It's better for your back, and your meetings with the officers went faster, so out went the chairs."

"You can't possibly know that..." said Cain, shocked. "So I'm dead in your... Timeline? And my ship... Just how did you get here?"

Apollo answered by asking another question. "Do you know of Earth?"

"It's only a legend."

"No, it exists. We found it. Only in our timeline they were destroyed and the survivors found another planet. They had a device which allowed them to travel between timelines, and they gave one to us."

"With that device we could end the war with Caprica." Cain thought deeply. "Commander, can you give us the specs for the device?"

"I don't have them." said Apollo.

"Then can you give us the device for reverse-engineering?" asked Cain. "I must have this device."

"It was stolen by a man named Gaius Baltar. We're trapped in this universe."

Cain reacted visibly. "Gaius Baltar? President of Caprica?" She put a hand to her forehead. "No, no, it would be a different one." She straightened. "Commander, we are going to recover your device, for your good and ours."

"What can you give us in return?" asked Apollo.

"A little secret of ours that has given the Capricans a lot of trouble..." said Cain mysteriously.

**_Delphi, Homeworld Two, Our Timeline  
_**

"Mr. President, Patrick Corman is here to see you."

"Send him in." said Zarek, staring out the windows at the city. "Mr. Corman, you said you have urgent matters that you need to discuss with me."

"I think perhaps I should explain who I am." said Corman. "Three years ago I orginized a black ops mission with Commander Adama and the battlestar _Valkyrie. _It was my intent to 'toe the line' and see the Cylon response."

Zarek spun around. "Admiral Corman? Why didn't you take command of the fleet in the first place, where were you? You outranked even rear admiral Cain!"

"I hold the Admiral rank in honourary status only. I actually work for Section 7." said Corman, stepping forward. "I specialize in black ops and undercover espionage. And that is why I'm here. My job is to report directly to the President, and that at the moment is you."

"What ship were you on?" asked Zarek.

"_Gemenon Liner 1701, _actually. I was travelling with a special unit of Section 7, and we've been holding the Fleet together ever since."

"I've never heard of any Section 7," said Zarek, "And it's the sort of thing I'd find out about."

"What? You? You're an amateur, Zarek. A joke." laughed Corman. "No, we've been dealing with much bigger fish. If I wanted I could have you removed from office. But that's not why I'm here. It's about the Terrans."

"What about them?"

"Do you believe that they are open and frank with you, disclosing easily any information you think you could find out another way?"

"What? I don't understand you."

Corman rolled his eyes. "If I were to tell you that one of my boys found out that the Terrans had developed a new technology that renders ships invisible, installed it on one of your own battlestars, and didn't tell you, what would you think?"

"I'd think you were frakking lying, that's what I think."

"Mr. President, I'd watch my language if I were you, which I'm not. The point is it's true."

Zarek shook his head in stubborn disbelief. "Mr. Corman, if I said that technology like that could not only be done but be useful, they'd laugh!"

"My dear Mr. President!" chuckled Corman. "They laughed! And then they built it." He pulled a folder out of his briefcase. "This is a list I've had my boys prepare, everything you need to know on Project Nighthawk. It's up to you now."

"What is?" asked Zarek.

"That's up to you. You decide the next course of action. My job is to provide you with the right information, and only if necessary, take action."

"What if I try to shut down your orginization?"

"You wouldn't do that. A crazy as you are you're a patriot, and my job is to make sure the colonies survive. At this rate, we can just lie down and be the next Sagittaron of the Greater Terran Alliance." Corman turned on his heel and strode out the door. "And besides, you can't even if you wanted to."

Zarek slouched in his seat, the stencilled folder lying in front of him. He opened it up, and started to read it.

_**CSS Laurier, Alternate Timeline  
**_

"Scans still negative." said Benson. "Adama reports that DRADIS is also clear."

Torias looked at his watch again. "How much could the coordinates have drifted?"

"No idea." said Benson. "We've never followed anything between timelines."

Torias thought, then chuckled. "I wonder what Adama's thinking right now. This is probably like something out of a bad sci-fi story."

"I can tell you what I think," said Boomer. "I think we'd better start a search pattern quick."

"They could have FTL'ld away by now," said Benson.

Torias stood up and walked over to Benson's station. "Do we have any of the Colonial scriptures on there?"

"I'm afraid not, Avery," said Benson. "Adama's probably got a few in his library, or digital files."

"Then it looks like the fate of the _Shenandoah_ depends on William Adama." said Torias. "Send the signal."

**_Battlestar Galactica, BSG-75_**

Colonel Tigh shoved open the hatch to CIC. "_Pegasus_ again?" he fumed.

"Cain has been quite the problem, lately." said Adama. "Remember the attack she pulled off at Molecoy Munitions Supply?"

"You're damn right I do." Tigh scowled. "How does she manage it? That factory was one of the most heavily guarded fortresses this side of Ragnar. Yet she got shock troops inside!"

Adama pulled out his glasses and put them on. "Cain has a talent for thinking outside of the box, and making gutsy calls." He checked the star charts for the area. "Which is why we've been tasked to join Battlestar Group 41 and hunt her down."

"Hunt her down? How will we manage that?" asked Tigh.

"I don't know." said Adama, before the proximity alarm flashed.

"Two ships just drifted into extreme DRADIS range." said Karl Agathon, at the tactical station. "One is about the size of a battlestar, one is a quarter of the size... Commander, the battlestar is actually exactly our size. I'd go as far as to say it's a _Chimera_-Class."

**_Batlestar Galactica, CFCV-111, Alternate Timeline  
_**

Adama looked up at the DRADIS console, supplemented with sensor readngs transferred from _Laurier._

"The sensor net registers it as a _Columbia-_class battlestar." said Tigh. "The IFF isn't colonial though."

"What's the ship?" asked Adama. "The DRADIS screen says BSG-75."

"What?" exclaimed Tigh, before checking the display again. "Bill, it's us! Or our mirror self, or whatever the hell it is! It's the _Galactica!"_

_"_There's another group," said Adama. "Oh my gods... Saul, it's old 41!"

"What? Is that _Valkyrie?"_ said Tigh in complete disbelief. "But she's... She's completely intact!"

"Admiral Torias is on subspace," said the officer sitting at comm.

"Put him on." said Adama, picking up the reciever. "Admiral Torias, I'm staring at two of my old commands."

"There's no sign of _Shenandoah." _said Torias.

"I suggest we abandon our position." said Adama.

"Why? If we establish communications they may be able to direct us, and inform us of Cylon movements, if any."

"Admiral, there is no telling what affiliation these ships may have. They may be Cylon ships for all we know, or there may be no Cylons! Things are different here, and we cannot interfere with their affairs."

"You're really taking my briefing to heart, aren't you?" said Torias.

"Commander, they might not be the same people!" insisted Adama.

"Commander, you are to open communications with the lead ship. We're going to silent running, and will assist if you need us. Torias out."

**_Battlestar Pegasus, BSG-62, Sickbay, Alternate Timeline  
_**

"Dee?" muttered Apollo, holding her unconcious hand. He'd felt it move again.

"Lee?" Dualla mumbled back. "Where am I... Was that really..."

"You're on _Pegasus._" said Lee. "We're safe, for now. Admiral Cain is going to help us track down Baltar to recover the lienaied."

"But Peggy was destroyed..." said Dualla, waking up more. "Where are we?"

"Not now... I don't know what happened to you, the nerve gas wasn't that damaging..."

Dualla almost started crying. "They were going to... I had to tell them..."

"Tell them what?" asked Apollo, suddenly alert. "Dee, what did you tell them?"

"The... The weapons codes." Dualla started crying.

"Damn it, Dee! What were you thinking?" Apollo said, holding his head in frustration. "Do you know what they could do now? If they ever got control of the ship again..."

"They were going to vent you into space." Dualla sobbed. "I couldn't let them do that..."

"Then you should have let them!"

"I couldn't do it!" cried Dualla. "I couldn't lose you again! After New Caprica..."

"As far as I see it, you've got to seperate personal and military matters," said Apollo. "Or you shouldn't be wearing that uniform. There's a reason this isn't normally allowed."

"Lee, no, don't..." Dualla struggled as Apollo walked out.

_**Homeworld One, Our Timeline  
**_

"President Nariyan," insisted Zarek, "There is a project I don't know about, and I demand to be kept abreast of everything your military does! You've violated that agreement!"

"Project Nighthawk?" asked Nariyan. "I'm sorry, Tom, but I can't help you."

"What's this about putting it on one of my ships? What do you have to say to that?"

"I know nothing about any cloaking device." Nariyan stated. "And if you don't stop raising your voice and pounding on my desk I'll have you thrown out!"

"President Nariyan," said Zarek. "Wouldn't it be in your best interests to give us, openly and freely, any information I could easily find out some other way?"

"You can't find out anything about something that doesn't exist." Nariyan poured himself a glass of scotch. "Care for a drink? It's an 18 year old from Craggenmore. There aren't many of these left in existence, now that Scotland's a radioactive rock."

Zarek stormed out, leaving Nariyan alone. "Nancy," he said. "Get Tohmara in here right away. Tell her it concerns either a security leak, or a code green. Yes, a code green." Nariyan closed the link and took a long sip of of his scotch.

_**Phoenix, Homeworld One, Our Timeline  
**_

"I trust that your meeting with our esteemed president went well?"

Zarek whipped around. "Where the frak did you come from?" he said as Corman moved out of the shadows.

"It's my business to know what my government is doing." he said simply. "Do you believe me now?"

"Belive what? They're our allies, they are the reason we're standing on a planet and not stuck on some dilapidated spaceship."

"Tom, have you ever considered that maybe our cultures don't mix well? That perhaps for us to coexist, one of us must lose our identity?" Corman sighed. "You probably think I'm crazy, considering this when we are walking in what seems to be paradise? Well, let me tell you Tom, that it's easy to be a saint in paradise, but who does the dirty work in the background? Who makes sure paradise is paradise?" His eyes flamed as he pointed at himself. "We do! Without us, the Colonies would have broken back up into two warring factions like they were before the Cylon war!"

"I'm going to hunt you down," said Zarek.

"Well I have a signed 'get out of jail free' card. '_I, president Adar, hereby confirm that Corman, Patrick T., is leader of Section 7 and has all the priviledges that go along with that status'_. You don't... have... one of these, do you Tom?"

"That's not worth the paper it's written on!" fumed Zarek.

"Trust me, with the law, it is. The world's great Tom! The world's great!"

Corman disappeared into the shadows as the air raid alarm started howling.

Zarek ran to his car, which was supposed to have armoured windows. It didn't make him feel much safer.

"Driver, turn on the radio," he ordered.

_"-no action at this time. The orbital defense grid had mobilized to intercept the fifteen ships, which are presumed to be Cylon warships. More on the story as it develops. We're now going to look out on the street to what public reaction has occured..."_

_**Battlestar Galactica, BSG-75, Alternate Timeline**_

Adama took another look at the DRADIS console. "Prepare to put Cobras in the launch tubes. Have a Talon launch to preform recon."

"Yes, sir." said Agathon. "All Cobra pilots to launch tubes."

Qualified Petty Officer 2nd Class Dualla picked up a comm transmission. "_Galactica_ is hailing us."

"Put them on speaker." said Adama.

"_This is the battlestar _Galactica_ to the lead ship of battlestar group seventy-five. This is commander William Adama of the Canadian Star Fleet."_

Adama turned and stared at Tigh. "Who the frak does he think he is?" he fumed.

"You, apparently."

"Very funny." Adama said. "Unknown vessel, this is the actual battlestar _Galactica._ If you are who you say you are you will authenticate identification codes immediately." He knew they wouldn't be able to comply. Not even the Tauronese had that kind of intelligence.

"We're receiving recognition codes... Ship identification is authentic. Affiliation codes are not Caprican, but not Gemenese either."

"Unknown vessel, this is _Galactica_ actual, you are permitted to come alongside, but any hostile move and you will be fired upon."

_"Understood, Actual. _Galactica_ out."_

"Commander," said Tigh. "Now that you mention it, he does sound awfully like you."

"I won't accept that until I'm face to face with him." said Adama as he left CIC.

* * *

Section 7 is based on Section 31 from Deep Space Nine.

If anyone thinks ony of the mirror characters are out of 'character' from what you normally expect (i.e. Admiral Cain) remember  
that they are different people, and that their situation is a lot more stable.


	12. Chapter 13: Equilibrium

Note: In the Alternate Timeline, Raptors are known as Talons while the Vipers are Cobras. I hope things don't get too confusing, but that's the order of things.

* * *

CHAPTER 13: Equilibrium

_**Delphi, Homeworld Two**_

Tom Zarek stepped off the maglev, returning the salutes of the Colonial military officers greeting him. The chartered helicopter that would take him to the Residence was waiting on the tarmac outside the station, as Zarek sought his chief of staff Tory Foster.

"What have you heard about the Cylon fleet?" asked Zarek, trying to make sure the jacket he'd draped over one arm didn't blow away in the wind.

"There hasn't been any activity from the Cylon ships except some transmissions."

"Have we intercepted these?"

"Yes, sir." said Foster, holding on to her hat as she boarded the helicopter. "The Terrans have initiated meetings with the Cylons. Perhaps it's a peace conference, maybe an ultimatum."

Zarek threw his jacket and suitcase into the overhead compartment over his seat. "Did the Terran president have any say in the matter?"

"He arranged the meeting."

"What!?" Zarek exclaimed. "What the hell sense does that make? Why wasn't I consulted?"

"I'm not sure." said Foster, checking her notes again. "I've drawn up a message for President Nariyan condemning his actions, and asking for a seat at the negotiating table."

"Good work, Tory." Zarek said. He was still a little shocked. The Terrans had gone, in less than a week, from brothers to overseers. What kind of power did the colonies have anymore?

**_Battlestar Galactica (mirror), Alternate Timeline_**

Commander William Adama climbed down the gangway in the Port Hangar bay, stepping around the Mk.VII Cobras to stand in front of the Talon that had flown in from the other _Galactica._ Adama refused to believe what the ship was, and was taking no chances. No less than fifteen marines were armed and ready for an incursion. Adama half expected Admiral Cain to step out from the Talon.

The biege hatch hissed open, and Adama's jaw dropped. Flanked by two Marines dressed in what looked like authentic Caprican combat uniforms was a mirror image of himself. But not quite. The scar on the side of Adama's face was not present on this man. The uniform colour was all off, being blue instead of the battleship gray of Adama's. The uniform patch, the rank insignia, all matched his own.

The other Adama seemed as surprised as he was to see himself. He unconciously raised his hand to the side of his face, then dropped it again.

Adama walked up to his mysterious counterpart. "My name is Commander William Adama of the Caprican Battlestar _Galactica."_

_"_So am I." said the other Adama. "Only my ship belongs to Canada." The voice was a perfect match of his own.

"Canada?" asked Adama.

"The country I belong to," said another man, also in a blue uniform but of a different design. "Admiral Avery Torias of the starship _Laurier._ Commander, we need your help."

"You'll get nothing until I find out who you," he looked sharply at the Canadian Adama, "Are. You're almost exactly like me. Are you a clone, or a Gemenese trap?"

"Gemenese?" asked the other Adama. "What about them?"

"We've been at war with the Gemenese since their surpruse attack on Caprica and her allies three years ago. We've battled to a stalemate, except for one person who manages to make us look like fools every time we stick our noses the wrong way."

"Who?" asked Torias.

"This way." said Adama, motioning the Marines to stand down. As briefed, two of them stayed with the other Adama. "Admiral Helena Cain of the Gemenese battlestar _Pegasus._ She has found ways to infiltrate and destroy even our most secure locations. My job is to hunt her down."

"We're searching for one of our own battlestars that was lost in this sector," said Torias.

"Group 41 intercepted a new advanced Gemenese battlestar, but Cain showed up with her own forces. So either you're Gemenese, or your ship has alied with them. The _Shenandoah, _if I recall correctly."

"Believe me, Commander," said the other Adama, "The last thing we want is to get involved in a war. We just want our ship, and we want to leave."

"I'll find your ship." said Adama, "If you help me find and kill Admiral Cain."

**_Troy, Homeworld Two_**

"Thanks for taking me," said Roslin, adjusting the seat in the car.

"No problem," said Zhan, as the automatic transmission shifted to a higher gear. "Cathy, which route was it to Delphi again?"

"Route 47," said Catherine.

Zhan thought for a second. "I was sure it was 46."

"No, two rights later we should hit route 47, and that should take us to,"

"Cathy, we don't want 47, that will take us to Anestaz. We want 46,"

Roslin peered back at the map. "I think we should take 47, that's what the map says."

"Fine!" said Zhan, exasperated. "Two rights?"

"No, we've already passed a right turnoff. Next right will be 47." said Catherine, folding the map. "Ms. Roslin, could you put it in the glove compartment?"

"Okay, we'll reach Delphi in two hours." said Zhan. "By the way, Ms. Roslin, why are you going to Delphi? I mean, it's the President's home, you can't just go up and ring the bell."

"They'll know me. I used to be the President."

"Voted out of office, eh? Happens to the best of us."

"But why do you need to go if you're not in the government?" asked Catherine from the back seat. "Do they not know what you know? Trust me, they know. The President knows everything that goes on."

"They don't know this," said Roslin.

"So you'll educate them, eh?" said Catherine.

Zhan honked the horn. "Look at these people! Maniac drivers, they don't look, they just go,"

"Go? Mom, they're going faster than we are, look at this we're in the fast lane!" said Catherine, pointing at the sign.

"I can't go faster they're cutting me-"

"No one's cutting you off!" insisted Catherine. Roslin just sat quietly in the passenger seat while the family argued. She remembered a time when she argued with _her_ mother.

"What's the rush?" asked Zhan. "You think if we're not fast enough Delphi won't be there?

"That's what I'm worried about, yes." said Roslin.

"Well," said Zhan. "How about stopping for some dinner?"

Roslin looked at her, then sighed. "All right. Do you like Italian? I've sort of aquired a taste for it."

"Yeah, that'd be fine." said Zhan.

"No," said Catherine.

"But-"

"No." said Catherine again, in a monotone.

"We love Italian, and so do you," said Zhan, taking her eyes off the road to look at Catherine.

"Yes," said Catherine. Roslin winked at her.

**_Battlestar Galactica (mirror), Alternate Timeline_**

"Let me get this straight," said Adama. "You come from another reality, different from this one, where everyone is the same but different. Am I right so far?"

"Yup," said Torias. "Believe it or don't, how do you explain us?"

"I could put you out and airlock, and not have to explain anything," said Adama. "Your description of your ship worries me enough to prevent that. I want that ship to help us find Cain."

"We want our ship. Once we have it, we're leaving." said the alternate Adama. "As I said before, we have no desire to get caught up in your private little war. But we will intervene if we must."

"Fine. You can go back to your ship. But I'll have my eye on you." Adama stood up. "Let's go."

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"He really is... just like me, isn't he" said Adama, as they left the alternate Adama's quarters.

"It's going to be tricky telling you apart, I can tell you that. Perhaps it would be easier if I did all the talking from now on." said Torias.

They had arrived in the port hangar bay, where their Raptor was still sitting. "The way those Marines keep following me, I think you're right." siad Adama, who had to duck behind a Viper to prevent being hit by a deckhand running at full speed. Then he looked at the Viper, seeing the pilot's name stencilled on the side.

"Well, we know they've got a Kara Thrace here too." he said, pointing at the cockpit.

"That's good to know. Now, we have have a ship to find."

"_Now hear this, now hear this, jump will occur in ten minutes, begin jump preperation, all flight ops must be completed in five. That is all."_

_"_We got five minutes to leave, capisce?" said Torias. "Now let's go."

_**Battlestar Galactica (mirror), CIC**_

Adama walked along the corridor, approaching CIC. Around him crewmen ran, complete inspections for the jump preperation. Opening the hatch to CIC, he descended the stairs to the main level. Looking up from the paperwork he was going over, he was surprised to see Captain Sharon Valeri, the leader of the Talon squadron aboard his ship.

"Captain Valeri, what do you want?" asked Adama. "Aren't you supposed to be in the hangar bay preparing for the jump?"

"Commander, it is my opinion that you're incapable of handling this mission. You've grown too soft over the years."

"So what do you intend to do about it?" asked Adama. He was caught in a bad position. He'd avoided many assasination attempts in the past, but that was from constant vigilance. And here he was with one of his most trusted Talon pilots, in a life-or-death situation.

Sharon's answer was quick. Two shots to the chest and Adama was thrown back on the plot table. Nobody was lifting a finger to save him, either, lest they be shot too.

Sharon holstered her weapon and removed Adama's rank insignia. "Get that out of here," she barked. "Computer, please note that as of this moment, Commander Sharon Valeri has taken command of the battlestar _Galatica_. Please record time and date."

_**Battlestar Mercury, Orbit of Homeworld One, Our Timeline**_

"I am Commander Rachel Carey of the Canadian battlestar _Mercury._ Welcome aboard."

The Cylon team was made of only four models, though Rachel had been told to expect twelve, or at least seven confirmed models. The Heavy Raider sat on the elevator to the flight deck, as it didn't have the same magnetic skids as Vipers and Raptors and couldn't be moved without a hoist, which would have been a waste of time considering the party would only be here for three hours.

"If you'll come this way, the president of Polaris is waiting in the wardroom."

"You don't seem too worried to have us lurking around your ship," said one of the models, a Five.

"Trust me, if you wanted to take over this ship you would first have to acquire the console release codes, find a way to shoot all ninteen hundred people on board, and then do this without attracting the attention of both the defense net and the counter-insurgency program." Rachel explained, quite happily.

"I'm sure we'd find a way." said Five.

"Oh, come on, Doral." said another Cylon, a Cavil. "Why would we want a junky old Colonial ship anyway?"

"Because we've beefed it up with Terran technology?" suggested Rachel. "Of course, we've taken into account your fancy computer skills, so we've uploaded a program which kills all networks if it detects any hacking. We also have three seperate databanks, each updated every thirty minutes, so if one computer is compromised, we just wipe it and reload it."

Cavil raised an eyebrow. "Quite a speech, my dear. There's a space on our ship if you're interested."

"I'd have to upgrade it quite a bit..." said Rachel.

Cavil adopted a look of mock horror. "Did I hear that right? Upgrade _our_ ship?"

"Okay, Cavil, enough." said a Sharon model.

"You might be interested to learn that two of your models are serving in our service." said Rachel. "One's in the Colonial fleet, one's in the Canadian fleet. One of your 'heroes', actually."

"Traitor," muttered Eight,

"Calm down," siad Doral, "In the interest of peace, they've taken a first step."

"We're here," said Rachel. "It's been a pleasant conversation,"

"Change from the other encounters we've had," muttered Cavil.

"But here's the President."

"Only one?" asked the Simon model, who had been silent up to this point.

"The president of the Colonies couldn't attend..." siad Rachel. "At least, that's what I've been told."

"Then you might need some new sources," came a booming voice from the back of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am President Nariyan of the Greater Terran Alliance. Welcome to Polaris. Your entrance was a little surprising, but at least you're not shooting."

"President, we have come in search of a non-aggression pact." said Simon. "Our empire is currently embroiled in a civil war, and indirectly, you are are the cause. We need to make sure you do not become involved."

Nariyan whistled softly. "Civil war? We don't need a non-aggression pact, we just need an assurance that we'll be left out of this. We have no intention of getting involved in someone else's war without good reason. We have no interests whatsoever in your conflict. Just give me an assurance, in writing, that you will not approach this star system, and we won't go anywhere near your war."

The Cylons discussed it for a second. Judging from the speed in which they had finished it it there were no arguments. "We agree," said Cavil. "If you have a computer, we'll draw one up right away."

Rachel left the room. In less than ten minutes the Terrans had achieved what the Colonials had failed to do in three years. The Cylons had to be up to something, and even if they weren't, the Colonials were. Zarek would never support this.

**_Battlestar Shenandoah, Alternate Timeline_**

"Kobol?" asked Dualla. "Why Kobol?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" said Apollo. "This Kobol is the same as our Kobol, it doesn't make any difference. The computer says Baltar was looking up the Final Prophecy in the computer. Therefore he intends to go to Kobol. We just gotta stop him."**_  
_**

"Admiral Cain says that there's now a fleet searching for us. She doesn't know who it is though." said Dualla.

"What's up, Dee?" asked Apollo.

"Do you forgive me?" burst out Dualla. "For the codes?"

"Oh, that." Apollo, scratched his head. "I changed them, so no harm done. I know why you-"

"Just tell me: do you forgive me?"

Apollo embraced his wife. "Of course I do. I didn't mean what I said."

"Thank you," sniffed Dualla. "Now... Now where were we?"

"The fleet pursuing us..." said Apollo. "Hang on," he said as the comm rang. "Yeah, CO."

"This is CIC, I've got _Pegasus_ Actual on the line."

"Put her through," said Apollo. "What is it, Admiral?"

"A Caprican battlestar group just jumped into range. I'm going to red alert, I suggest you do the same. _Pegasus _out."

"Holy," said Apollo. "We've gotta get to CIC now!"

**_Battlestar Galactica, Alternate Timeline_**

"The alternate _Galactica_ is taking up position beside _Pegasus._ They're preparing to fire," said Tigh. "Should we power up?"

"No, Lee might be on that ship." said Adama. "Can you get Commander Adama on the line?"

"No, sir, _Galactica_ has gone silent. Coded transmissions only, and they're different from ours."

"Signal Torias to position himself between _Shenandoah_ and the fleet. Tell _Shenandoah_ to do the same. Then prepare to launch Vipers."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Tigh.

"No. But we'll need both sides to..."

"_Galactica_ is hailing us. Commander Valeri informs that Adama has been removed from command, that the fleet is under her command, and that we are clear to begin attacking both ships."

"It's the class... They must think it's a Gemenese ship!" exclaimed Adama.

"They're right!" replied Tigh. "And they've probably got orders to fire on us!"

"Signal them to take up position between the Capricans and the Gemenese." said Adama. "And tell the combatants to stand down or we'll all fire."

**_Battlestar Valkyrie (mirror), Alternate Timeline_**

"Hell of a time for a transfer," said Kara Thrace as she got into her Cobra. She was personally waiting to see what kind of weaponary the ships from beyond the universe had.

The _Valkyrie_ was about three quarters the size of _Galactica, _and had about the same ratio of Cobras. The design was much more compact and advanced, as it had been designed to combat the new _Mercury-_class battlestars the Gemenese now fielded.

Thrace snapped on her helmet and adjusted the air intake. The shard tang of pure oxygen filled the confined space. She now had been rolled into the launch tube, and the LSO was waiting for her signal. Running through the checklist, she activated her wireless.

And all hell broke loose.

She could hear the commander of _Galactica_ shouting at the commander of the alternate _Galactica,_ threatening to attack if he did not stand down. She heard the alternate Adama (now the only Adama, actually) saying that Admiral Cain was stepping down on condition that they did not start shooting. Then the order came through for all attack squadrons to launch against the alternate starship and both battlestars. Cain seemed to have been forgotten.

"_Valkyrie _attack squadron away," Thrace reported. She raised the heads-up display and selected missiles. "AMRAAM missiles locked on target." she reported, as the computer targeted the Terran starship.

"_Roger, tack squadron, clear to fire."_

_"_All Cobras, we're red and free." she reported. "Blue one, away!"

"_Blue two, firing,"_

_Blue four, away,"_

Twenty missiles shot away from the starfighters towards the Terran starship, targeting the engines. They all exploded five seconds before estimated impact time.

"Control, that is an NI, negative impact, repeat, NI, negative impact." said Thrace, rolling in towards the front of the ship. "Not one got through. Either they've got frakking great anti-missile systems or the engines thore them to pieces. Rolling in, switching to general target mode. Blue one, firing!"

Instead of twenty this time no less than fifty missiles streaked towards the _Laurier_, with no particular spot in mind. But yet again, all the missiles exploded harmlessly before hitting the hull. Thrace made out small energy surges rippling over the metal.

"All fighters, pull up, pull up, they've got some kind of shield over the hull, pull up!"

The attack fighters flipped end over end and boosted the other way as _Valkyrie_ opened up. The shield was still intact.

The DRADIS on Thrace's heads-up display beeped madly. "All fighters, bogeys launched, repeat bogeys launched, blow through, blow through!"

Two converging streams of indentical aircraft, one from _Valkyrie_ and one from _Shenandoah _passed through each other, while the two _Galacticas_ circled each other, blasting away. _Pegasus_ had retreated out of the battle zone.


	13. Chapter 14: Terminal Run

CHAPTER 14: Terminal Run

_**Gemenese Battlestar Pegasus (alternate timeline)**_

"Admiral Cain, my name is Admiral Avery Torias of the Canadian Star Fleet."

Cain stuck out a hand. "I don't know who you are, or where you come from, but I've never seen a Caprican battlegroup chased off by three ships."

"We're not here to get involved. We just want our technology, and we want to leave." Torias stepped off the wing of the shuttlecraft. He had taken one instead of a Raptor, seeing as the Capricans used them Torias thought it would be better. Adama remained on _Galactica _for that reason.

During the battle Adama's battlestar had been hit by two nuclear weapons, knocking out the FTL. Torias had asked Apollo if _Shenandoah_ had any spares, but they didn't. Neither did _Pegasus._

"Admiral Torias," said Cain. "I urge you to reconsider. This isn't common knowledge, but the war is going very badly for Gemenon. Tauron is the only colony left with an undamaged infrastructure. Our technology is in most ways equal or better, but they outnumber us almost two-to-one."

"I'm sorry Admiral, but I can't help you." said Torias. "I'm told Apollo agreed to allow you to help us locate our lienaied. I wish to thank you personally."

"No need, Admiral," said Cain. "We have our own orders as well. Commander Adama of the _Shenandoah_ had done some reading out of your scriptures, since he believes that your Baltar is being deluded into thinking them true. Shall we walk this way?"

Cain led Torias through the corridors of _Pegasus,_ leading to her quarters. "I have suggested that _Shenandoah _make the trip, since she is the most heavily armed ship save your own. I was hoping that _Laurier_ could stay behind and make sure my battlegroup survives."

"I don't see any problem with that, our ship isn't equipped with the FTL drives required for jumps."

"You can't travel faster than light?" asked Cain, dumbfounded.

"We are quite capable," said Torias, as they entered Cain's quarters. "We use a different method involving graviton fields and space-warp instead of your micro-wormhole approach."

"Admiral, I'm a tactician, not a rocket scientist." said Cain with a smile. "Sorry they're aren't any chairs. I find that it's better for my back."

Torias perched on the side of the table. "I'll live. When do we leave?"

"I'll let Commander Adama decide that," said Cain, seeing Apollo pass through the door.

"Sorry I'm late," said Apollo. "Admiral Torias! I haven't seen you for a while."

"Good to see you, commander," said Torias. "Admiral Cain was just briefing me on the mission."

"Well, we don't actually have a 'mission', per se..." said Cain. "We're going to Kobol and finding one of your Raptors. That's all. We find the Raptor, we find Baltar somewhere."

"Very well. Is that everything?" asked Torias.

"What about my battlegroup?" asked Cain.

"I'm leaving the senior Commander Adama in command of the _Laurier. _Oh, and admiral, what was the shipment you had sent over to _Shenandoah?_"

"It's the joker up our sleeve, Admiral." said Cain. "And I'm sure your ship has a whole bag of tricks as well. But I won't make you go through it at this moment. Thank you, gentlemen."

"Admiral," said Torias, before leaving with Apollo. "What do you think commander? Is she like the Cain you knew?"

"In some ways, yes," said Apollo. "But she's not a strict, or harsh. I've only known her for a short time, but she is more personable. I don't know if she's as open as the other Cain, or even less, but right now I trust her. Not as far as I'd like, but more than I thought I would."

Torias shook his head. "You know what you think, when you've been at peace for years, you think that everything's fine and that the conflicts have been settled. And then you look at this..."

"You know what I miss most?" asked Apollo.

"Try me," said Torias. "Not running from the Cylons I hope. That sounded downright boring."

"Hockey. I'd never seen it before we found you, and now I can't believe I'm missing the playoffs."

"Don't worry commander, we'll make a Canadian out of you yet." laughed Torias.

Apollo reflected for a second, then sighed. "Things have changed so fast, and so much. I just don't know what to expect anymore. If I could tell myself in the past that I'm standing on a battlestar from Earth in a parallel dimension where the Cylons never came, I would laugh myself out of the room. Yet here I am..."

"You take the universe for face value. But there are things out here, both wondrous and terrifying, that you cannot begin to imagine, or simply can't imagine. And a closed mind is only going to work against you when you reach this stage. The Cylons are the ultimate realization of a conventional enemy." Torias turned to look at Apollo. "But, I'm sorry to say, there are much worse things than the Cylons."

**_Delphi, Homeworld Two_**

"Still no response?" asked Zarek in disbelief. "What the hell are we, prisoners? If this wasn't happening to me I wouldn't believe it." Zarek started pacing around his desk. "I should have listened to Corman. He was right after all."

"What is your response?" asked Foster.

"I want to be broadcast on Network One this evening. Make it a special. The press want in on it, I'll give it to them. Than the die will be cast. And send a message to Phoenix, and Nariyan: We will not go quietly into the night!"

"Very well, mr. President." said Foster as she walked out of the room. "We'll be ready to record in ten minutes."

"Fine," said Zarek, slouching in his chair. He sat alone, staring at the paintings on the wall. All of them landscapes, some in the sunset, some where the sun was rising. Sometimes it seemed like the sun was setting on the Colonies, first when the Cylons hit, and then when the Cylons returned to New Caprica. Then Earth was found, in a way, and the sun was setting again. Every time they found hope or salvation, they had to give up who they were.

"Is this the legacy I'm to leave?" Zarek said to no one. "To be the captain of a sinking ship that nobody will remember?"

"Sir?"

Zarek looked up, seeing that Foster was back in the room. "I've spent my life fighting for what I thought was right, often against impossible odds. Now, not only am I fighting for the people who once were my enemies but but the people I am fighting against are the ones who opened up to us."

"Mr. President, you can't blame yourself. Look around you. Your people are happy, your country is safe... Things aren't as bad as you make them out to be."

"One thing I have learned over the years is is that there comes a time when the odds are quite literally impossible, and that one must give up in order to survive to fight another day."

"What do you mean, Mr. President?

"I mean that I want you to contact President Nariyan and give him a proposal. If he grants us cultural independence and the ability to make our own decisions for internal affairs we will become a province of the Greater Terran Alliance."

"But, sir, what about our foreign policy? The Cylons?" spluttered Foster.

"You haven't been paying attention the last few weeks, have you? In their peaceful, non-aggressive way the Terrans have been warning us to assimilate... Or lose..."

"What about your press conference?" asked Foster.

"Announce our decision. I want you to stress that our heritage and internal affairs are still our own concern." Zarek sighed. "And maybe I'll do something right for a change."

The phone on Zareks desk rang. "What is it?" asked Zarek.

"_There's a Laura Roslin here to see you, Mr. President. She says it's urgent."_

"Send her in." said Zarek.

**_Battlestar Shenandoah (alternate timeline)_**

"I trust you're settled in comfortably, Admiral?" asked Apollo as Cain entered CIC.

"I must admit, I'm not used to having guest quarters. I've been on _Pegasus_ for the last year or so."

"You'll be back on her in no time, if everything goes according to plan."

Cain didn't hear him, as she wandered around CIC. "It's a lot brighter..." she muttered. "What did you do with the hard drive?" she asked.

"Uh, we replaced it with isolinear rods and fiber-optic storage units. It's faster, holds more, and we've made it more secure to protect us from foreign infiltration."

"How much did it cost?" asked Cain in amazement.

"I don't know exactly, but it must have been a lot." Apollo waved his hand at the room. "This ship was the only new one we constructed. All the others are still from our Colonies."

"Right." Cain shook her head. "I keep forgetting you're from another reality."

"Commander, we've got _Laurier_ on the line." said Dualla. "Commander Adama wishes to speak with you."

"Put him through here," said Apollo as he picked up the reciever. "How's the ship, Dad?"

_ "Incredible. They've actually got a chair for the commander. I'll be spending more time in CIC, though over here it's called the 'Bridge'."_

"Maybe we should install one here," chuckled Apollo.

_"Maybe on _Galactica_, but you've got to keep your weight down."_

"I'll remember you said that," said Apollo. "We're getting the coordinates for Kobol now. Apollo out."

Cain was shocked. "You're getting the coordinates already? What about the prep?"

"Our computers are faster and can handle more data. We can jump in under sixty seconds in a pinch, and can jump farther than you can."

"I don't suppose I could trade in my battlegroup for this ship?" asked Cain.

"No can do, Admiral," replied Apollo as Torias entered CIC. "Admiral Torias, if you'd give the word."

"Commander Adama, the word is given. Take us out." said Torias as he stepped beside Cain. "I hope Adama doesn't break my ship."

"He seems happy to watch everything from the captain's chair, from what I've heard," said Cain with a slight smile.

"Commander Apollo, best speed to Kobol." said Torias, and the _Shenandoah_ jumped away.

**_Battlestar Shenandoah, Port Flight Pod_**

"Laird, get your butt over here!" shouted Starbuck, climbing out of her Mk.VII.

"Now what?" muttered Laird as he performed a visual once-over. "Did you take it through a meat grinder, or something?"

"No, I took it through a smashed Raptor. The secondary Gyrodyne Relay is shot again. It could kill me even with dampeners, I'm glad I made it back as a person and not chunky salsa!"

"I'm amazed it flies at all," complained Laird. "It'll take me three hours to find out what's been hit!"

"Skip the paint job if you want, it doesn't hve to look nice. Just fix the damn thing!" Starbuck stomped over to the port catwalk. Flying against other Vipers was bad enough, but it was _Galactica!_ Another bucket! If she hadn't seen it she would have laughed, but there it was. It reminded her of one of the pilots before the war who used to read old science-fiction magazines from Tauron. He said it was batter than the Caprican, stuff, and he was always waiting for the next Raptor to bring more in. What was his name? Chuck? Top Hat? Starbuck couldn't remember, it was so long ago.

She changed in the locker room, and then headed up to the ready room. "Woodman?" she exclaimed upon entering the room.

"Oh, no. Not you again!" Woodman slammmed down the mug he was drinking from, causing whatever was in it to fly out. "You know, your CO really picked a hell of a time to hire me for pilot training."

"Funny, I thought that was my job."

"I'm a civilian contractor, and I know just as much as you do," he pointed at her.

"Fine time to find out I've been replaced," Starbuck growled as she searched for the Top Gun mug. She'd been top on _Galactica_ before assigned here for the duration of the mission, and she didn't figure that anyone on this ship scored higher than her.

"Looking for this?" asked Woodman, showing off the mug he was using.

"Your frakking kidding me."

"Civilian or not, I'm killed the most this mission, and since this ship has only had one mission, that's the only one that counts, according to the CAG. So unless you killed more than six Cylons, this is mine. So, how many?"

"Five," admitted Starbuck.

"Good job," said Woodman in a patronizing voice. He took a dramatic sip from the mug, and Starbuck stormed out of the room for fear of seriously injuring him.

**_Delphi, Homeworld Two_**

"Madam President," said Zarek as Roslin entered the room.

"I'm not President anymore, sir," she said.

"The Terrans have this tradition. 'Once a President, always a President', even if said President isn't in power.**_"_**

"I enjoy the flattery Tom, but we don't have the time. Events are occuring that are similar to events redicted in the Final Prophecy."

"Not more superstitious nonsense!" pleaded Zarek. "How many prophecies are not true? More than I can count!"

"Are you going to give up power to a higher authority?" asked Roslin. "If you are, you shouldn't, or this plaet will be destroyed by a foe more terrible than anyone can imagine."

"The Cylons have agreed to a non-aggression pact, and now that we are in the process of joining the GTA we'll be at peace with them."

"Not the Cylons, Tom! Worse!" Roslin stopped herself.**_ "_**Wait a minute..." she said.

"How did you know I'm handing over the reins?" asked Zarek.

"You're already in the process?" Roslin exclaimed.

"I sent the memo five minutes ago."

Roslin put a hand to her head. "It's too late. It's over."

"The Terrans can protect us from anything that comes our way," said Zarek. "The Cylons are signing the pact because they're afraid of the Terran's superior power. We are safer now than we were on the Colonies."

"Tom. Turn on the television."

"But-"

"Do it!"

Zarek stepped over to the corner of the room, and turned on the set. It was on in an instant, a miracle of Terran technology.

_"We don't yet know what we're dealing with, but the Terrans have started large scale evacuations. DRADIS shows at least fifty starships of verying size, which are now being intercepted by Terran, Colonial, and get this ladies and gentlemen, Cylon ships are also blockading this fleet. The basestars will reach the fleet first."_

"What the hell is going on?" exclaimed Zarek. "If it isn't the Cylons, who is it?"

"_Terran wireless has been going crazy, but some of our Colonial reporters on the scene describe quote 'panic on a planetary scale'. And the picutres! I've never seen anything like this before, but I can imagine it happening on each Colony as the Cylons hit."_

"But who?" Zarek asked the television. "Who is it?"

"Someone worse than the Cylons, someone who can match the Terrans in technology but surpass them in numbers." said Roslin darkly.

"_The only word in common in all this is 'Dravidiiam', but we are confused as to what this word really means. It is used in context of a people or nation, so we are assuming that it is a Dravidiiam fleet that has jumped into orbit. Wait, hang on a second folks, we've got information from the battle overhead. At least two thousand fighter craft have been launched from both the Cylon and Dravidiiam ships. This is incredible. Cylon ships are opening fire... Not a single shot is getting through, they must have shields like the Terran ships. Dravidiiams are returning fire... Three Cylon ships hit... My gods! They're gone! Five more are hit, and two of those are destroyed! The Cylons are being torn to pieces!"_

"Madam President, what do we do now?" asked Zarek.

"Try to get as many people as we can off the planet, and leave the combat area. I had one of the Terran crewmembers, Admrial Torias' wife, I believe,  
drive me here from Troy. I'll talk to them and we'll get everyone in this area onto the ships. What is the nearest one we can get everyone in this building on?"

"Colonial One, of course. You'll like what we've done with it." Zarek picked up the phone in his office. "Tory, I want you to evacuate the country. Yes, the entire country. Get everyone on any ship you can find!"

"Let's move." said Roslin.


	14. Chapter 15: Journey To Nowhere

CHAPTER 15: Journey To Nowhere

**_Battlestar Mercury_**

"Report!" shouted Rachel as she jogged into CIC. The red alert lights were cycling in their alcoves while the klaxons sounded, making the CIC seem even busier than it really was.

"Twenty Dravidiiam starships now. No more jump signatures, that's all there is." said Hoshi.

"And the Cylons?"

Hoshi pounded at his computer. "The lead Dravidiiam ship opened fire on a basestar, and the entire Cylon fleet mobilized. Five basestars destroyed, two hundred raiders shot down. The computer's having a hell of a time keeping score."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at the unfolding battle. "Any damage to the Dravidiiams?"

"Two ships have lost shielding, but no actual damage yet. About a dozen fighters destroyed, the damn things have shields too!"

"The Cylons are getting torn to pieces..." Rachel muttered. "Let's give them all the help we can get! Full supression fire! Forward batteries target the lead ship."

"Should I launch Vipers?" asked Hoshi.

"They'll be massacred!" replied Rachel. "The Cylon Raiders can be resurrected, our pilots can't. We just need to give the civilians a little more time."

**_Colonial One, Delphi, Homeworld Two_**

The whine of the engines almost drowned out all other noise as Zarek, Roslin, and the other occupants of the Presidential Residence ran for their lives.

"What's going on now?" shouted Zarek. "Where's the enemy fleet?"

"I don't know! All Terran wireless transmissions were cut off five minutes ago!" Foster shouted back. "President Nariyan is airborne, as is most of the cabinet! I'd say we have fifteen minutes!"

Zarek turned to see an oriental woman and her daughter run up beside them. "What the hell is going on?" she shouted over Colonial One's engines.

"The Dravidiiams have returned!" shouted Zarek. "We're evacuating the planet!"

"What about Homeworld One!?" shouted Zhan.

"I don't know!"

"How long do we have?"

"I don't know that either?"

Zhan became frustrated enough to scream "Then what the hell DO you know?!!"

"I don't know! I don't know what I don't know!" Zarek shouted back as he scrambled up the gangway to the Colonial passenger liner. As they entered it the scream of the engines died away. "Captain," said Zarek calmly, in sharp contrast to his earlier outburst, "We're ready to lift off."

"What about the people outside?" asked Roslin. "Isn't their some sort of evacuation plan? How many people can this ship hold?"

Zarek looked outside at the thousands of screaming people lining the fence on the street outside. They wanted to get on the ship.

"Mr. President?" Roslin insisted.

"We take too many we'll be too heavy to reach escape velocity," said Zarek decisively. "We have no choice."

"Don't we? Tom, look at them!" Roslin waved madly at the porthole.

"Pilot! Lift off!" ordered Zarek. The hatch clamped shut, and the pristine white and blue liner roared into the sky once again, as the thousands left behind became violent. There simply weren't enough ships.

**_Battlestar Mercury_**

"How many did we save?" asked Rachel, as she stared at the DRADIS screen as the ship rocked again.

"Fifty seven starships, most of them Colonial..." said Hoshi at tactical. "Commander, President Nariyan never made it out of the atmosphere."

That news, coupled with the instant devastation, was like a horse had kicked her in the stomach. "Where is the original evacuation fleet?"

"The Dravidiiams attacked them first. We're looking at a hundred thousand dead, minimum. They knew exactly where to hit us."

Rachel's legs gave up and she leaned against the plot table. "Oh my god..." she muttered, again and again. "Oh my god..."

"Sir, President Zarek and fifteen more civilian ships have joined the fleet." reported Hoshi.

Rachel looked up. "Thank you. That's... That's good news. Colonial One can berth in the starboard flight pod if they need too. I think we need to recuperate, and see how hard we've been hit. Status of the Cylon fleet?"

"Completely destroyed. Not a single Raider remaining. The Dravidiiam fleet is now in orbit of both planets. I'm detecting heavy radiological signatures... Sir. Lifesigns on the surface are negative. They're being thorough this time around..."

"They don't want any Humans left alive..." said Rachel. "We're being exterminated." She regained her composure. "Disperse to all fleet, emergency jump to coordinates Theta. Any ship that doesn't have an operating jump system is to dock with one that does. Execute when ready. Colonial One can rejoin us on the other side."

"Executing jump," reported Hoshi.

Rachel stood up tall, and left CIC. She knew the Dravidiiams couldn't trace the Colonial jump system, the only advantage they now had. With the sense of security came something else. The minute she was out of sight, she leaned against the wall, fell to her knees, and cried.

**_Battlestar Shenandoah (alternate timeline)_**

"Kobol on the main viewer. Entering standard orbit," reported Dualla.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" commented Cain. "All my life, I've heard stories about Earth, and Kobol, and all those myths. But I never really took them seriously..."

"Kobol is another planet, just like our own." said Torias. "For all we know these prophecies could have been written by someone from the future travelling to the past."

"Time travel is just as unbelievable," said Cain.

"And travel between alternate realities?" asked Torias. "I'm so relieved to know that both I and this ship are figments of your imagination."

Cain chuckled. "I suppose you're right, Admiral."

"Admiral Cain, things are impossible until they are not. Faster than light? Check. Energy weapons? Check. Interstellar travel? Check." Torias paused for a moment. "There was an old Earth saying once, I forget who said it, but someone said that science, sufficiently advanced, is indestinguishable from magic."

Apollo placed the phone he was using in the cradle. "Engine room reports all green. So, if you don't mind, let's get over here to the IFF scanner."

"Commander, do you think a man as intelligent as Baltar would leave that thing on?" asked Cain in disbelief.

"Gotta start somewhere," smiled Apollo. "And... Admiral, there he is."

Cain blinked, shocked. "What?" she exclaimed, looking at the screen. "Well frak me, he did! Do you think he had a reason?"

"Personally, Admiral," said Apollo, "I don't care. I think it's time we put an end to this once and for all."

Cain looked at Torias, who just shrugged. Shaking her head, she folowed Apollo out of CIC into the corridor.

"Three Raptors with air-to-ground ordnance packages," listed Apollo. "We'll take a fourth one with a Marine contingent in case they've already exited the craft. They're jump drive is slower than ours, so we might not be too late."

"Gods willing," said Cain.

"Don't worry," said Torias. "He's got a jump drive, but it can't be installed without the manual. It can't be used with a power source like the tylium plant of a Raptor. Even if he can use it, he's got nowhere to go. There is nothing he can do."

"Then why go through all this trouble?" Cain asked.

"He's caused enough trouble already." said Torias. "By jumping he risked attracting a Dravidiiam fleet. And if they can defeat the Emerian empire and walk over Earth, they can sure as hell flatten Polaris." Torias sighed deeply. "For all we know it's too late. The Dravidiiams could have already destroyed Polaris, and with it any hope of repopulating humanity."

"Even if they have, there's nothing we can do." said Cain, detached from the situation. "We have a mission to accomplish."

**_Colonial One, Port Flight Pod, Battlestar Mercury (docked)_**

Tom Zarek stared out the windows of the executive liner, watching the hull of the _Mercury_ slide by outside. "More than a hundred thousand, maybe even a million..." he muttered.

"You can't blame yourself," said Roslin, sitting opposite him in one of the leather armchairs. "There was nothing you could do."

"We could have had evacuation plans, we should have learned from New Caprica..." said Zarek. "How many lives could we have saved?" He tried to banish from his mind the image of Homeworld One, surrounded by blade-like Dravidiiam starships, the surface almost glowing with nuclear fire. Surrounding the planet was the wrecked Terran civilian fleet and Cylon basestars. "The Cylons!" he said. "To think that it would come to this."

"Mr. President?**_"_** Roslin inquired.

"Nariyan kept telling me that the Terrans believed in equal opportunity, equality in general. Now I see that he was right all along." Zarek rose to his feet. "Something I learned in the past couple of weeks was just how outdated our human rights have become. We regressed to a state above only martial law... It had no place in a stable society, like the one the Terrans had built. Ours was inferior."

"No." said Roslin. "It was just the wrong one. Our system performed admirably in the conditions we found... Find ourselves in. It kept us alive, and kept the Cylons out."

"But in Polaris we held on to it. I refused to accept the change, just as you did after the attacks. I was holding on to a fantasy!"

"I remember that..." Roslin smiled. "Now, how long are we going to keep the Commander waiting?"

Colonial One had jumped along with the Colonial civilian fleet to join the Canadian battlegroup, of which _Mercury_was now flagship. As Admiralty was now charred ruin on the surface of Homeworld One, Commander Rachel Carey was now the highest ranking military officer left alive. It was a condition somewhat similar to the one Roslin had presided over after the Holocaust. There was a new twist however... All the military was Terran. All the civilians, including the governement, were Colonial. Now order depended on whether Rachel Carey would accept Zarek as President, or declare martial law.

"Oh... Right." said Zarek, distracted. "We've already docked, haven't we?"

"We've been docked for about five minutes."

Zarek straightened his tie. "Let's go."

**_Battlestar Mercury, Wardroom_**

Rachel leaned back in her chair. She had just recieved the report from all Terran military ships, and the news was all the same. She was now in command  
of a battlestar _and_ a fleet. Of Colonial civilians no less.

Her first command had been back on the _Hyperatis,_ during the Exodus from Earth. That ship had been lost after the late Admiral Decker, mentally unstable after having an entire battlefleet shot out from underneath him, performed one final act of bravery, ramming the ship into its twin _Harpatis _(under Dravidiiam control) and destroying both. Rachel returned to being second to Torias on _Laurier._

"Where is he?" she said to no one in particular, drumming her fingers impatiently on the desk.

She had been put in command of _Pegasus_ because of an unlucky nuke impact that disabled Commander Lee Adama. She lost that ship, too, using the tactic Decker had used and ramming the ship down the Cylons' throat.

Two commands she had destroyed. Now that she had a fleet of civilians she didn't know what to do. Would she run up against a Cylon fleet, or worse, the Dravidiiams? Or would the Cylons continue to help them.

The automatic door to the room hissed open, revealing the President of the Colonies. Joining him was...

"Rachel!" cried Zhan as she rushed through the door. "You made it!"

Rachel laughed as Zhan threw her arms around her. "How on Earth did you get out?" she asked.

"You can thank the President, here." said Zhan, gesturing behind her.

"President Zarek," said Rachel. "Welcome aboard the battlestar _Mercury._"

"It's a pleasure to be on board." said Zarek. "Now I suppose we have some issues that need discussing."

"You would guess correctly." replied Rachel. "The situation is clear. We have less than twenty Terran starships, most of them military. We have more than sixty Colonial starships, none of them armed. I see potential for a nasty bit of business if the Terrans don't acknowledge the government."

"The question now remains: Am I the legal successor to President Nariyan? Or will the military start calling the shots?"

Rachel was about to answer when the condition one alert started up. She made her way to the nearest comm station and picked up the phone.

"CIC, this is the Commander, report."

Hoshi replied, though it was obvious he was under a lot of stress. "_We've stumbled into what appears to be a Cylon staging area. We've uploaded new emergency coordinates to the fleet. They're building up for something."_

_"_How many ships?" asked Rachel.

"_Two thousand, total count. Nine hundred basestars, several hundred frieghters and support ships. I'd say the Dravidiiams are in for a real treat, I just don't want to be around when the fur flies. Sir."_

"Execute jump." ordered Rachel. "And when we're in the clear I want a tally of all fuel, food, and water supplies in the fleet."

_"Yes, sir."_

Rachel hung up the phone. "Prepare for an emergency jump," she warned.

As usual, the room seemed to contract, although Rachel knew it was an optical effect. Staring at it for too long could make one very queasy, though.

The room returned to normal. "Commander to CIC," called Rachel. "What's out there?"

"_Nothing, skipper. We're all clear."_

_**CSS Laurier (alternate timeline)  
**_

Adama stared out the main viewscreen into the depths of space, though they were not empty. A vast nebula stretched out in front of the ship, with a planet obscured in the mists.

The viewscreen itself was a luxury, something that he had lived for a long time without onboard _Galactica._ Colonial battlestars had centralized command centres, not the compartment the Terrans had grown so used to.

"What's that planet?" he asked.

"Uncharted, sir." said Benson. "Do you think we have time to map it?"

Adama didn't know how to respond. This was a very different ship from his own. They were very interested in exploring, something he had never run into aboard the military fortress of any battlestar.

"I suppose we can run a ground survey team." said Adama. "Move the ship into orbit." Adama pushed a comm switch. "Chief, I want you to get a ground survey team ready."

_"Yes, sir."_

Adama stared out at the planet. Something about the way it was shadowed by the nebula, it evoked a memory of an image.

Adama shook his head. It was just another planet.

**_Planet 11XCA (alternate timline)_**

"Commander, why is this really necessary?" asked Tyrol as he stepped down from the Raptor. The bright light had a blue feel to it, and the heat beat down like a heavy rain. "This isn't even our universe."

"It's identical to ours, and if you want to spend the whole time sitting up in the spaceship, go ahead." Benson shaded his eyes and stared at the surrounding mountains. "Chief, what do you make of that?"

"Make of... That? Looks like..." Tyrol took a closer look.

Sticking up like a sore thumb in the middle of the rolling plains was a jagged peak of rock. The twin spears were shaded by dust blown up from the ground, but the were a very impressive display.

"That sure as hell ain't natural... said Tyrol. "Can it?"

"It might be. Let's get closer."

Benson lead the team up the incline, but was interrupted by his communicator. "Benson here, what is it?"

"_Team leader, _Laurier_, sensors show increasing nuclear activity in the main star. Best guess it goes nova in six hours."_

"Thank you, _Laurier._" said Benson, closing the link. Six hours wouldn't be enough time to survey the planet, but right now that mountain was the only thing on his mind.

It was even larger than he had expected close up. The cliff face was almost perfectly vertical, sheer rock right to the peak. "Hey Chief, where're you going?"

"Something I gotta... Commander, in here!"

Benson quickly ducked his head into the cavern, and then stood up. Straight.

He was standing in a room that made a cathedral look cramped. Five pillars surrounded a massive bastion at the centre, with sunbeams gleaming down from above. "I know this place!" said Tyrol. "This is the home of the Eye of Jupiter."

"What?" asked Benson. "What is that? What is this place?"

"The Temple of Five. Or at least their version of it."

**_CSS Laurier (alternate timeline)_**

"The eye of Jupiter?" asked Adama. "Are you sure?"

_"Positively, commander. I recognize the symbols from my father's study."_

Adama leaned on one arm of the command chair. "Can you find the Eye of Jupiter?"

"_Uh, no, sir. I just recognize the symbols on the temple walls. But the Eye is supposed to lead the people to Earth, and we've already found Earth."_

"Our Earth, remember. Maybe the Earth in this timeline..."

"_Sir, I think we should concentrate on studying the temple first. We should try translating the glyphs on the walls... They're very old. The universal translator is having trouble. It may be a while before we have them sorted out."_

"Proceed at your own discretion, Chief. But in six hours we're leaving."

"_In six hours there'll be nothing to leave. Tyrol out."_

More legends and myths. Adama had never believed them until he found Kobol and stood upon its surface. He had only been fully convinced when he found the map to Earth himself, and stared up at the night sky on Earth. It had worked in the end, considering he was sitting in a Terran starship.

But how could the prophets know what would happen in the future? Did someone tell them?

**_Battlestar Shenandoah (alternate timeline)_**

Apollo signed off the Raptor from the LSO, and walked over to it, inspecting it from force of habit. The engines were in good shape, the hull was pitted and scarred but in excellant repair. He jumped onto the wing and entered the craft.

Five marines were crammed in, occupying the fold-down chairs along the edge of the compartment. The front two seats were empty.

"Where's the pilot?" asked Apollo.

"I don't know, sir. She hasn't showed up yet."

She? Apollo felt certain he knew who it was, and desperately wished that he had assigned the pilot himself. He laughed inwardly, though. From the top gun of _Galatica_ to a Raptor pilot. How the mighty have fallen.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." muttered Thrace when she finally did enter the compartment.

"What the frak did you do this time?" asked Apollo. "Not another tussle with Woodman, I hope."

"Shut up." she hissed. "It's bad enough I'm flying this bucket of bolts, the last thing I need is a chatty commander on board too."

**_Battlestar Mercury, Wardroom  
_**

It had gone better than Zarek had hoped. Rachel had not only acknowledged the Colonial government, but was under its command. The military would help supply the civilian ship, much as _Galactica_ had before New Caprica.

"We're all in the same boat," Rachel had said. Zarek couldn't disagree.

Rachel was handed a report by a petty officer, who then left the room. "How is the crew?" asked Zarek.

"They're holding up, but the morale factor is vital..."

"This isn't a time to be happy..." said Zarek.

"People work better when they've got something to look forward too. We have nothing. So I've elected to search our star charts for inhabitable planets, and submit them to you. And, just to liven things up..."

Zarek watched as she stood up and entered something into the ship's computer. The comm system whined signalling for the crew's attention.

But what Zarek heard wasn't an announcement. It was a song.

"_It's a long way, to Tipperary, it's a long way to go."_

"What's that?" he asked.

"Something to cheer the crew up. I suppose this is your first taste of Terran music?"

Zarek nodded, listening to the song. "Yes, it is." He cocked his head, and heard something astonishing. Like a chorus or a choir, the song was being echoed by the crew, growing louder and louder as more people joined in.

"It's a long way to Tipperary, and the sweetest girl I know!" sang out Rachel.

The music reverberated through the halls of the ship, a mighty chorus of thousands, as the battlestar _Mercury_ led the fleet into the future. Where they would end up, Zarek could only guess.

_"It's a long long way to Tipperary, but my heart's right there!"_


	15. Chpater 16: The Darkness And The Light

CHAPTER 16: The Darkness And The Light

**_Surface Of Kobol (alternate timeline)_**

When Apollo finally exited the Raptor, he'd wished he'd flown it himself. He didn't know what was eating at Thrace, seeing as Anders had survived New Caprica and was now a pro pyramid player on Polaris. But after the nerve racking wobble down to the surface it was clear she had inebriated herself with vast amounts of Terran whisky and vodka. She was in a bad shape.

It must be something to do with the Top Gun mug aboard _Shenandoah._ Apollo knew how Thrace saw herself, and it wasn't as a second string Raptor pilot. To have a civilian outscore her...

His attention was then taken with an empty Raptor that they had landed near, no doubt the missing Raptor from his ship. Baltar had ditched it in the middle of a swamp (not long ago for steam was still rising from the cowling), with great mountains in the distance surrounded in a light mist, diffusing the light from the sunrise. Since they wouldn't be here for too long Apollo didn't bother resetting his watch to planetary time. As far as he was concerned, it was mid-afternoon.

He was sure that in his timeline there would be the rusted hulk of a Raptor on an island to the left of him. The remains of Raptor One. But not here. Instead there was great ruined city on the other side of the swamp. Apollo didn't give it too much thought, but if the city had collapsed in their universe, why had it not collapsed here?

"They're most likely heading to that building there..." Torias pointed. "The... Opera house?"

"We'll head there first," said Apollo, hefting an automatic rifle over one shoulder, and clipping power cells for it on his belt. "If not the Marines can cover the area surrounding the city."

"Then let's go."

_**Battlestar Mercury**_

Rachel stepped out of her quarters, heading aft down the corridor. Thoughts whirled around in her head, such as _Now what?_ The fleet was rudderless, with no destination. Earth was a radioactive rock, as were most of her colonies. Bowronis, one of the ancient Emerian colonies, was a frozen wasteland. That left two possiblities: the planets Arkya and Emyr. Emyr was the origin of the Emerian Empire, lost until a Terran recon mission had stumbled upon it instead of Polaris. The situation was very similar to what the Colonials had done when Kobol was discovered, right to the stranded research team. It had been crawling with Dravidiiams when _Laurier_ and the fleet had escaped.

Arkya was another matter. It was another Emerian colony, just like Earth. Unlike Earth, it had been at a mid-twentieth-century level of technological achievements, with some notable differences. The primary mode of travel and combat was through large zeppelins, due to the fact that there were fewer oceans on the planet. The turbojet had also not been invented, so the flying aircraft carriers were stuck using aircraft resembling craft from Earth's Second World War, albeit with avionics fit for a Viper. The planet was relatively intact, due to the fact that they had not used any lienaieds when the Terrans first encountered them. They're history was much like Earth's: an Emerian colony (Straatis) was destroyed and the survivors slowly rebuilt.

So it was a choice between the two.

_"Commander, CIC."_

"CIC, this is the commander," said Rachel after finding a comm unit. "What is it Hoshi?"

"_We've just entered the star system Terran charts call Wolf 359."_

"Very well," said Rachel. "Anything in particular to report?"

_"A Cylon fleet, sir. Massacred. But it looks like they gave the Dravidiiams one hell of a fight. I reckon they can out-think the Dravidiiams at computer programming."_

"Something we never thought of..." said Rachel. "I want the fleet jumped clear. No need to stick around here."

_ "Coordinates transmitted. Jump in-"_

The report was cut short by an explosion, which seemed to be near the port flight pod. The ship careened to port, rolling violently. Another explosion pushed it further, while emergency alarms came to life. Rachel was thrown away from the phone, hitting her shoulder hard against the bulkhead. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she crawled back to the comm unit.

"Report!" she shouted over the alarms.

_"Unknown starship... Dravidiiam... Evasive act-"_ The comm units were scrambled in the confusion, with stations all trying to coordinate.

"CIC! Has the fleet jumped away?"

_"They're gone, but we're stuck." _said Hoshi, now that the comm channels were more or less under control._ "The FTL's out. We've confirmed only one starship, and it seems to be in pretty bad shape. They took us by hiding in the wreckage."_

_I should have thought of that! _Rachel berated herself. "Hoshi, engage at flank away from the ship. Roll us over to keep our damaged sections out of their line of fire, and set a course for the star."

_"Sir? Wolf 359?"_

"I want to be as close as you can get me." said Rachel. "Give me 110 percent on the reactor! 120 if you can push it!"

"_Hang on, Commander, more Dravidiiam ships are jumping into range. Almost a hundred ships. I'd say our secret's out." _The wounded starship must have used the attack to distract the _Mercury_ while it signalled for help.

"Send a distress signal on Cylon frequencies." said Rachel. "Better go with the devil we know."

Rachel slammed the phone and ran the rest of the way to CIC. The DRADIS console was flooded with targets and vectors, looking like an explosion in a wire coat hangar factory. "Status?" she asked.

"The Dravidiiams are not alone. We're picking up several Cylon ships alongside. They seem to be together." Hoshi tapped the console again. "Correction, more Cylon ships jumping into position... Alongside us! We're up to a thousand ships in total, five hundred per side. I've never seen anything like this before..."

Rachel was completely baffled. The second wave of Cylon ships was now without a doubt on her side. "Why the frak are the Cylons fighting one another?" Then it hit her. The Cylon civil war. One of the factions must have convinced the Dravidiiams that they were not of human origin and allied somehow, using the opportunity to strike at their rivals. That doubled the odds against. Rachel knew that the half of the Cylon empire that had allied with Polaris could not match up to the other half _and_ the entire Dravidiiam fleet. And the Terran military, while technologically beyond the Cylons, could never hope to match the Dravidiiams in numbers. And it had jumped away with the civilian fleet. It was a hopeless battle, but one they could not escape.

"All hands to battlestations." ordered Rachel._  
_

_**CSS Laurier, War Room (alternate timeline)**_

"How can it lead to Earth?" asked Benson. "If you've already found Earth, that's a bit of a redundancy."

"Maybe there's another explanation." Adama said. "If..." He looked up as the door opened. Instead of the navigator, he found himself staring at... "Boomer?"

"Sir, I've got the nav calibrated, as you requested." So she _was_ the navigator?

"You're serving on this ship?" Adama asked. "In their service?"

"Yes... Sir..." Boomer said, holding back tears. "There's no programming, I assure you! And I'm unarmed... I never meant..."

Adama stood before her, eyeing her with venom. "You betrayed me. My ship..."

Benson stepped between them. "Commander, Boomer, you can't fight here, this is the War Room!"

"A contradiction if you ask me..." said Adama. "This is the Cylon that shot me."

"We know," said Benson. "That's why she joined our fleet, and not yours."

"_Commander!"_ sounded the comm. "_Commander, the star is emitting higher levels of radiation. I'd say it's accelerated. I'd give us thirty minutes at most!"_

"Recall the expedition, and prepare to jump away." said Adama. "We've already found Earth, we don't need the Eye." Turning to Boomer, he continued: "We'll finish this later."

_**Surface of** _**_Kobol (alternate timeline)_**

Torias stepped up onto the stone platform, taking in the age of the building. Sections of it had collapsed completely, but most of the masonry was standing. Everything that wasn't stone had either washed or rotted away, but for now the sun pounded down on the landing party, with the flagstones raising the temperature even more. The sun was growing lower in the horizon.

Cain, Apollo, and Starbuck joined Torias on the platform, and as they walked into the building their gaze was drawn as if by a magnet to the vast space inside, and the patterns on the ceiling. Turning on the spot as they advanced to see every corner of the old but magnificent building, they approached an entrance to another hall, this one more like an auditorium.

Torias stopped to open his communicator, which had started to vibrate. "Torias here. What is it, Dualla?"

"_Another starship just jumped into range. We've got it on monitors."_

"Well? What do you see?"

Panic rose in Dualla's voice, so whatever it happened to be, it was dangerous. "_It looks identical to one of your Dravidiiam starships. And it is pursuing _us_."_

_"_Damn," said Torias. If they were here, they were probably also in Polaris. All the more reason to hunt Baltar down. "Dualla, if we're not back by the time that ship enters weapons range, jump to where Adama is stationed. They can't trace your jump system, so you should be safe. Torias out." Torias closed the commlink before Dualla could argue any more.

"Guess those gods really liked their opera..." muttered Starbuck as she walked into the second hall.

"And look who we've found." said Torias.

Two figures were climbing the steps to the stage at the far end on the hall, through the skeletal remains of padded chairs, now only metal bones in the stone floor. Between them was the unmistakable form of the lienaied.

The marines fanned out to cover all the exits silently, and Baltar had no idea that anyone was even there. Torias, Cain, and the others slowly walked down to the stage.

"Baltar!" Torias called out. "That wasn't yours, last time I checked."

"This is for everyone's benefit!" Baltar returned, in a voice that almost sounded like a commercial for a new health food.**_  
_**

**"**That device there is responsible for the destruction of the Emerian Empire," said Torias as he drew level with Baltar. "It was also responsible for destruction of Earth."

"So why was it on your ship then?" replied Baltar. "You're too late. I am the instrument of God, and he wishes to be free."

"What?" Torias exclaimed. "I thought you were a scientist!"

"I was, but not anymore!" cried out Baltar. "I've risen above such mortal callings!"

Starbuck chuckled behind her hand. "He's really lost it this time, hasn't he?"

"You'll see!" Baltar cried. You'll all see!" And with that, he took the Bow of Artemis and slotted it into the lienaied.

Torias looked at the new contraption. "So that's what that slot did... Ignoring the fact that it looks ridiculous, of course..."

Baltar responded by turning it on. And the fabric of space tore apart in the resulting energy surge...

**_Battlestar Mercury_**

"My god..." said Rachel, staring in disbelief at the monitor. The two fleets were closing on one another fast, Cylon vs Cylon and Dravidiiam. The two creations/enemies of humanity locked in a titanic struggle..._ This is no time for romanticizing, you're stuck in the middle of it!_

"Load all torpedo tubes, weapons grid to full power." Rachel turned solemnly to the crew. "Make no mistake. The _Mercury_'s not coming back. The last of the battlestars. So-"

"Commander!" Hoshi exclaimed. "Sensors are reporting a massive energy surge. It's as if space itself is coming apart!"

"Any effect on the fleet?" asked Rachel, hope flaring.

"None, sir." said Hoshi. Hope died. "Wait... There's _another_ fleet! I'm getting Colonial... No, Caprican registries... And Gemenese registries... There are _two_ fleets of battlestars! And their weapons are fully charged."

Rachel swung around the plot table to peer over Hoshi's shoulder. "Well I'll be damned! Hail them, and try to get them to stop fighting each other! We'll need all the help we can get!" She walked to the plot table. "This is Commander Rachel Carey of the battlestar_ Mercury._ It is imperative that you cease and assist us. We're alone, and we could use some help."

_"This is Commander Sharon Valeri of the Caprican Battlestar _Galactica. _Received and understood. But I don't know about the Gemenese."_

_"This is Commander Taylor of the Gemenese basestar _Valkyrie_. Received and understood. I can't vouch for the Capricans, though..." _

"Sir, where did they come from?" asked Hoshi. "They aren't ours. We never had Caprican and Gemenese ships, and there were no jump signatures."

"Maybe they're related to the energy surge." said Rachel. "Something big is happening. That's all I know."

**_CSS Laurier_** **_(alternate timeline)_**

"It's going, sir!" reported Benson. "The sun's gone nova! I don't know how, but there it goes!" Benson checked his sensors. "There's been a massive energy surge in the fabric of space-"

"How long do we have?" interrupted Adama, sitting in the captain's chair.

"Fifteen minutes before it hits the planet!" said Benson, ignoring the interruption.

"Tell those Raptors to hurry up, things are starting to get hot!"

Benson looked up in disbelief. "Commander, _Pegasus _jumped away!"

"So will we, as soon as the Raptors are recovered." sai Adama, staring through the viewscreen at the massive wall of plasma and solar matter approaching the fleet...

**_Surface of Kobol (alternate timeline)_**

It was as if the room was a balloon that had been punctured, as the air screamed towards the lienaied. It was doing something other than what it had been designed for, but Torias didn't know how it worked in the first place. It was reverse-engineered from an original on the Emerian starship _Hyperatis._

"What's happening?" shouted Apollo.

"I'm no scientist, but I think that this reality and ours are starting to collide!" shouted Torias. "But don't let him know that, understand?!"

"I got the second part, but forget the science next time! You lost me!"

Everyone kneeled on the ground for stability, until the wind finally stopped.

"Very impressive, Baltar..." said Torias, standing up and cutting through the sudden silence. "You're under arrest." He turned to Apollo, attempting an air of indifference. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I'm afraid it's even harder than you think, Admiral." said Cain, pulling out her sidearm.

"Cain?" exclaimed Torias. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be on our side!"

"Remember when I said this device could win our war? We're losing, Torias, and I will not stand by and let a tool like this to go to waste."

"Think about it, you use this you're condemming all the Colonies!" pleaded Torias. "Don't do it!"

"Don't make me!" said Cain, pointing her gun at Starbuck, who was still on the ground. "You do, she dies!"

"She'll do it, Admiral!" said Apollo. "She shot her XO..."

"You're forgetting yourself, Commander," said Torias. "This isn't the same Cain. This is a different one..."

Cain gritted her teeth, still pointing at Starbuck. Her gun arm started to quaver. "You have some tough friends," she said quietly.

"I have no friends," said Starbuck.

"Kara, don't..." said Apollo.

Thrace looked up, a strange fire in her eyes. **"This is not Kara. These are the words of the Beast."**

"Admiral, what's happening?" asked Cain. "Did the lienaied do something to her?"

Apollo blanched. "She always said she had a destiny..."

Thrace, or whatever she had become, stood. "**I have been imprisoned for so long, yet now I am free. They cast me out, destroyed Kobol, left me with Humanity's flawed creation for subjects. But I no longer need anyone." **She turned to face the party. **"Especially ones like you. The Commander who is haunted by the image of his mother..."**

Torias could see a visible reaction in Apollo. Somehow whatever Thrace had become knew something he didn't...

**"The scientist who is ashamed**** of being Human. The soldier who is afraid to die, and to kill."**

"I do what is necessary!" hissed Cain. "I get things done when no one else can!"

**"If that were true, you would have fired by now. You are weak. You are ALL flawed. I learned that when I was cast out..."****  
**

The words resounded through the hall, powerful enough to send small stones scattering. Cain tightened her grip on her pistol as the Marines raised their weapons.

"What's it talking about?" asked Torias. "Cast out from where?"

"On Kobol, a war was started because one god tried to overpower the others," Apollo explained. "He tried to become the most powerful. It started the war that ended in the Exodus from Kobol. Hades escaped, but imprisoned himself."

"You mean this is one of _your_ gods!?" exclaimed Torias. "A Lord of Kobol?"

"No!" cried Baltar. "He is the Cylon God! The one true-"

"Shut up!" Apollo nodded towards Thrace. "He may not be in physical form, but that lienaied broke open the prison enough..."

"**My essence is all I need. And I grow stronger every second. Bask in the glory, for you will all perish."**

Thrace took a step forwards, her eyes now literally glowing. She raised one hand, an aura surrounding it.

Cain took a step back, out of range. She raised the pistol, while the Marines came up behind her. "Stop where you are!" she shouted at Thrace. "If you come any closer we will have no choice but to..."

She was cut off as one of the marines got too close. With one touch he was sagging lifeless to the ground.

Cain backed away faster, raised her pistol, and shouted at the top of her voice.

"OPEN FIRE!!"

* * *

Sorry for the hiatus, I've been away for a while. 

The whole Eye Of Jupiter/ Rapture two-parter brought back into focus Kara Thrace And Her Special Destiny (not the cover band). I thought I'd elaborate on that, and decided on something similar to Dukat and the Pah-Wraiths from Deep Space Nine.

I thought having Six and Baltar in the Opera House was a callback to 'Kobol's Last Gleaming', when Baltar has the vision. Granted, the purpose is quite different, but it works.


	16. Chapter 17: A Taste Of Armegeddon

CHAPTER 17: A Taste Of Armegeddon

**_Surface Of Kobol (alternate timeline)_**

Cain had never faced a god in combat before. Neither had any of Apollo's marines. They were quite shocked to discover that bullets had no effect whasoever. The Marines from _Shenandoah_ were trained to recognize energy shielding, but here the bullets Cain fired didn't ricochet. They simply vanished. So did the energy rounds from the Marines.

**"I grow stronger every second!"** it bellowed, continuing an endless soliloquy about power an invincibility.

**"**Shut up!" shouted Torias. "Everyone listen to me! I've got an idea!"

"What's that?" Apollo shouted back. "He's making a lot more sense with mysticism than any of your scientific crap!"

"It must be feeding of our fears!" Torias shouted back. "That's why it keeps goading us! It will grow weaker if we're... I don't know! Less scared? And besides, why is his version of the truth better than mine?"

The being took another step forward, continuing its speech. **"You have no idea what you've released."**

**"**God! What will you do now?" cried Baltar, trying to salvage the situation he had created. "How will you repay me?"

The being turned around and repaid Baltar in full, killing him and Six instantly. Torias didn't shed any tears, they were probably laughing right now in a resurrection ship or nearest counterpart, safely out of harm's way.

"It's not working, Torias!" shouted Cain.

Torias shrugged. "It was just a hunch! Maybe we should just try and get back to the Raptor!"

"**You will _not_ escape without me!" **bellowed the creature, finally taking actual part in the conversation. "**You must add to my strength!"**

"Sounds like a broken record, doesn't it?" commented Torias. A flash of fire on the horizon turned the humour dark.

"That was our Raptor." said Cain, her face falling. "Both of them."

"You mean we're _stuck_ here?" shouted Apollo. "Any more bright ideas?"

"I've got one." said Cain, looking at her watch. "Right on time, too." She pulled out a communicator. "Cain to _Pegasus, _seven to beam up."

"What the..." Torias tried to say before he dematerialized, leaving the surprised form of Kara Thrace shouting into the sky in fury, the opera house collapsing around her.

**_CSS Laurier (alternate timeline)  
_**

"Battlestar _Hybodus_, away. Battlestar _Atropos,_ away. Battlestar _Prometheus,_ away."

"How much time?" asked Adama, still staring at the nove on the viewscreen.

"Five minutes until impact, but it seems to be slowing." reported Benson. "What I can't understand is that we're being pulled towards it instead of being pulled away."

"A black hole at the centre?" theorized Adama.

"The nova hasn't collapsed yet. And the star wasn't big enough to form one anyway. The pull isn't too strong, but increasing."

"Compensate with main engines. I want to make sure Cain's battlegroup has all jumped away."

"Battlestar _Agrippa _away. _Galactica_ is the last one."

What happened next was unexpected, and the crew was complete unprepared. The pull on the starship suddenly tripled beyond what the engines could account for. She was being pulled backwards, into the explosion.

"What the frak is going on?" shouted Adama over the wail of the straining engines. "Engage the space warp FTL drive!"

The engines finally held the ship in place, but it was going nowhere.

"I don't know what happened! The nove was supposed to pass us, but we're still here!" Benson reported off his console. "We're going as fast as we can just to stay in one place! We can hold this position for five minutes before the engines quit!"

"Sir, the _Galactica_ is gone!" reported Valerii.

Adama slowly looked over the bridge crew. "Then that's it... I know I've only served with you for a short time, but you're one of the best crews I've ever commanded. Leftenant Valerii." He paused, his voice caught in the back of his throat. "Disengage engines."

The _Laurier_ swung around and plunged inexorably into the heart of the explosion.

**_Battlestar Pegasus, Leaving Kobol's Orbit_**

"I want to put as much distance between us and that planet as we can," said Cain. "It seems to have a range..."

"Which is increasing all the time..." said Torias. "I don't see what we can do! The scriptures don't read any further, and there are no other gods that we can call up to fight this thing!"

"What about Kara?" asked Apollo. "We can't just _leave_ her!"

"Commander, this may be hard to accept..."

"We have to at least try to save her!"

Torias turned sharply. "We did, all right? We couldn't even touch her! Just accept it, Adama! She's dead already!" Torias turned back to Cain as Apollo stormed away. "I'll have to keep an eye on him. Now I want a full briefing on that device you used to pull us of the planet with."

"Come on, I'm a soldier, not a scientist." Cain said. "All I know is that it takes objects apart at the atomic level, beams them through a coherent energy stream and puts them back together again."

"But that's impossible... We're researching that ourselves, and compared to the technology we've seen it's incredibly advanced for you. You don't have the computing power!"

"Excuse me, Admiral." Cain paused for a minute to retrieve a written report from one of her aides. "It seems we left Adama too near a red giant. It went nova fifteen minutes ago."

"Plenty of time to jump away." said Torias.

Torias and Cain (who almost dropped the clipboard) both jumped at the same time when the Condition One alert siren started going. Cain strode over to a comm station and retrieved the handset, slipping the report under one arm. "This is the Admiral, sitrep." She listened to the fast-paced dialogue and then returned the phone to the unit after ordering condition two. "A large fleet has just appeared with IFF matching your ships. Colonial recognition codes, and Terran military."

"None of the civilian ships have lienaieds, there is no way they could have jumped into this timeline..." Comprehension dawned on Torias. "The timelines _are_ colliding! They're merging as we speak!"

_"Admiral, contact CIC asap."_

Cain rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, this is the Admiral, what is it this time?"

"_We have a President Zarek wishing to come on board..."_

Torias nodded after Cain relayed this. "He's the president of the Twelve Colonies, thought I don't know what he's doing here. They should be on Polaris. Tell him to make it quick, we have to find Adama."

Cain nodded. "Roger that, tell him to be on board in thirty minutes. Tell him also that we're jumping out to check on Commander Adama and the _Laurier._" Cain then corrected herself, saying: "And tell him what I told you. About Kobol. Maybe he can find a priest or someone who knows scripture better than we do." Then she hung up.

**_Colonial One (alternate timeline?)_**

"What the hell is going on now? We've found _Shenandoah_ with what appears to be _Pegasus?_ This is crazy!" Zarek stared out the window at the _Pegasus,_ watching the Raptor containing the Terran commander Zhan and her daughter, who had wanted to see the Admiral. He would have a pleasant surprise, but many people were having surprises of a very different breed.

Roslin took another sip of tea. "Mr. President, we just have to roll with the punches and find a way..."

"No! _Shenandoah_ jumped away to some sort of alternate universe, didn't it? So where are we? Did it jump back? Or was that energy surge responsible for more than we give it credit for?"

"Tom!" Roslin snapped. "Your first duty is to the people!"

"No! Don't you see?" Zarek pleaded. "I was in office during a time of prosperity. A time of stability, and I got comfortable! When I was fighting, I knew exactly what to do! It's just not that simple anymore... I'm hanging on to a _fantasy!_ I'm in way over my head!"

"I know. I felt the same way when I first came to office," said Roslin. "Just stay the course, and things, with a little help, will sort themselves out. Just have faith in the system."

"I. Can't. Do this anymore!" growled Zarek. "What am I left doing? Hiding in my cushy little ship while my people are hunted down and exterminated? Now I've got the blood of both the Colonies and the Terrans on my hands!"

"So what are you going to do about?" sanpped Roslin. "Sit there and complain about it? That doesn't sound the the Zarek I've come to know. Whatever happened to decisive action and quick response?"

"It died back there on Polaris with Cylon sanctuary districts, human rights, and stability. We're back in a war zone, and once is enough for me."

Roslin pondered that. How far would they descend once more?

**_Battlestar Shenandoah (alternate timeline?)_**

"Lee!" called out Dualla as Apollo entered _Shenandoah _CIC. She flung her arms around him, then retreated. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Starbuck!" Apollo snapped. "Her 'destiny' ended up begin possessed by a god. And so we stranded her on Kobol."

"Oh my gods..." whispered Dualla. "What's Sam going to say?"

"There was nothing we could do... That's what I keep telling myself." He shook his head and got back to business. "What happened to the Dravidiiam ship that was pursuing us?"

"It jumped away." said Dualla. "I'm guessing it was a recce or something like that. _Pegasus_ jumped in a few minutes after they left, and now here we are, leaving Kobol."

"Something big happened." said Apollo. "That lienaied tore something apart."

"Is that why the refugees are here?" asked Dualla.

"What refugees?" asked Apollo.

"Hasn't anyone told you?" asked Dualla. "Both Homeworlds of Polaris have been destroyed by the Dravidiiams.The fleet is all that's left."

"It's happening again..." said Apollo. "Godsdammit!" he then snapped. "I'm sure everyone is as sick as I am of running from some overlording enemy! What does it take? Why can't these gods have mercy? They're supposed to be on our side, yet I haven't seen hide nor hair of them." His frenzy reached fever pitch. "The only god I've ever seen is the one who wants us all dead!! Where the frak is the godsdamned justice in that!?"

Dualla layed a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the looks from the crew at Apollo's obvious outburst. "We'll find a way to survive, like we did with the Cylons."

"No we won't!" Apollo pointed at her to emphasize the point. "Not until we stop acting like a bunch of morons who can't keep their pants straight. Every time we've been attacked it's because we've frakked up! We made the Cylons! We used the lienaied that attracted the Draividiiams, who were the creation of our ancestors! It's us! It's always us! So maybe we don't deserve to survive. Is it really worth it?"

Dualla didn't answer. She honestly couldn't. "Let's just make it to tomorrow, okay?" she said. "We're here now, and that's what matters."

"No, it doesn't. Not anymore." whispered Apollo. "We have no destination. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go but extinction, as we grow old with our ships. And when they can no longer support us... That's it. Come on, Dee! We're talking about the end of all human life! Don't you have any godsdamned feelings about _that?!_"

"Torias wants us onboard _Pegasus._" said Dualla calmly. "They're going back to find your father, and he wants you there."

"Why? What can I do that his computers can't?" Apollo complained.

"Maybe he wants to keep an eye on you, to make sure you don't head back to Kobol. He doesn't want you to be a liability, and he certainly doesn't want to lose a starship.""

"That's probably the most logical thing he's done since we jumped into this frakked up universe..." muttered Apollo as he followed Dualla to the port flight pod.

_**Gemenese Battlestar Pegasus (alternate timeline)**_

Helena Cain had always been a hard scientific, sceptical about all things religious. What had mattered to her was the here and now, but if religion inspired the troops, so be it. That made her stand out compared to the hardline Gemenese commanders who were almost exactly the opposite, contributing greatly to their war-effort in the wrong way. They blamed the gods instead of faulty planning for losing battles. When they lost too many battles, they gave up, stating that if the gods didn't want them to win there was no way they could. Cain had to stifle a laugh when she was in the room with such commanders and admirals.

She had catapulted up the ranks, her daring tactics bringing victory in spite of olympian interference, so she was placed in command of high profile strikes. The invention of the transporter had given her even more leverage, and her name was spreading fear throughout the Caprican forces.

Her past was secular. She quite simply wasn't religious.

But ever since Torias and the Colonials from the other universe had shown up, everything she had been brought up on was thrown into confusion. She had actually come face-to-face with a god.

So if the gods did exist, where were they? Why weren't they helping the Gemenese, who were without a doubt more religious than the Capricans? Was there one pantheon for all of creation no matter what universe they happened to be in?

For the first time Cain was faced with a question she knew she could never answer on her own.

She was now back in the relatively comfortable surroundings of _Pegasus_ CIC, the green lights filling the room with a familiar glow as the helm and second officer listed the FTL preperation verbally. Two minutes, and they'd be gone.

Torias was no doubt with his wife and daughter, who had miraculously survived the Dravidiiam assault at Polaris. The reunion had no doubt been a happy one, but it was not her business. Her business was here. But still, after seeing the family together, obviously happy, she felt regret at not pursuing men in her youth. It was too late now, though. And besides, who'd marry some of the morons she'd been stuck with at TauTech?

"Ready to execute FTL jump." reported the second lieutenant. "On your command."

As if on cue, the door opened and the Torias family walked in. Zhan took Catherine to the corner, to watch, while Torias stood beside the plot table, ready.

"Take us out, Mr. Fisk." Cain nodded.

And all hell broke loose.

When the CIC resumed its standard dimensions after the jump, the ship shook as if hit with a hammer twice her size. The engines were useless, as were the thrusters.

"What the hell?!" shouted Cain over the alarms. "Report!"

"It's like we jumped in next to a sun, but we should be far enough away not to be affected like this!" reported Fisk.

"What about the planets?" asked Torias.

"There's only the fading traces of a supernova. They're gone, sir!"

"Jump us out of here!" said Cain, ignoring the damage reports flooding in.

"The gravity, or whatever it is, is tearing us apart!" shouted Torias, throwing nervious glances at his daughter in the corner. He was probably already regretting allowing his family on board. Catherine was holding up well. "FTL is offline. The engines are failing!"

"The port flight pod is strained, sir!" shouted this ship's Hoshi. "It's starting to..."

Cain looked helplessly around her. There were no planets in transporter range, then engines and FTL were gone... Her ship was now doomed and she knew it.

The wounded _Pegasus _shot towards the centre of the phenomenon like an arrow. In sixty seconds she would be gone.

"All hands, brace for impact!" shouted Cain.

But the impact never came.

"Where are we?" asked Torias.

Hoshi picked himself up. The ship was steady, and the thrusters were responding again. "Have Central come up on the JA," he ordered, as if in a daze. He then turned back to his console. "The ship is steady again, gravity reads zero, and DRADIS shows us clear."

"Clear!?" Cain leapt to her feet and peered at the DRADIS herself. "My gods! It is!"

"But the planets!" Torias said feebly. "The nova!"

"There's only one planet within range," said Cain. "Helm, lay in a course."

"Where are we going?" asked Zhan, walking over to the plot table.

"This ship isn't going to do diddly-squat until we can get some materials to repair ourselves with. We've been through the meat grinder on this one, and we'll need quite an overhaul to patch the holes. Therefore: the planet."

"How long?" asked Torias. "With only two engines it could take hours,"

"We'll get there when we get there," said Cain. "Let's just get there before life-support or gravity fails. Then we'll really have some fun."

* * *

"Entering standard orbit," reported Hoshi. "Transporter is online. We're also picking up some unusual radio traffic." 

"Inhabitation? asked Cain, peering over his shoulder.

"It's looking like it, sir." said Hoshi. "Only one large concentration though."

"Then take us down there." Cain rose to her full height. "Admiral, Commander, if you'll come with me."

The area they beamed into took them all by surprise. It looked like an airfield from the second world war, right down to the camouflaged huts and primitive wiring. The Vipers parked on the field were very out of place, as were the Raptors. They'd seen better days, though, especially the mk.II Vipers.

Cain turned to look behind her as a shout went up. A small crowd of individuals was running up to meet them.

"Hello!" called one in a Colonial uniform. His rank pins were those of a commander, but Torias didn't recognize him.

"I'm admiral Avery Torias," Torias said, offering his hand.

"Commander Nicholas Tyrol of the battlestation _Galactica._" said the man, returning the handshake.

"Battlestation?" asked Zhan. "You mean battlestar, surely?"

"Nope. Her engines finally gave up twenty-three years ago, and she's been a station ever since." He broke out into a smile. "And stop calling me Shirley!"

Torias looked complete confused. "Twenty-three years? How could that be, we left her only a day ago..."

Nicholas nodded understanding. "I think my father can explain it to you better than I can."

Father? What was going on here?

He led them into one of the outposts. "He's in here."

"Hello?" called Cain. A flushing sound interrupted her.

"Sorry," said a grating voice from the back of the room, over the sound of circulating water. "Just brushing my teeth." An old man of about -seventy?- came walking over to an armchair in the middle of the room. "Wait a minute... You're admiral Cain, aren't you? But-" He suddenly nodded gruffly. "The mirror universe. Right. I remember now. I was there."

"But that was only a day ago..." protested Torias, forgetting to ask the man his name. There was another noise, this time from the kitchen.

"Is someone there?"

"Yes, honey. You can come if you want to," the man called. He turned back to Cain. "Yes, I suppose for you it was only a day. Benson said that was how the thing worked. I personally like to think it's the Gods' contingency, something they left us for this occasion." He chuckled roughly. "The Eye Of Jupiter did show us to Earth, in a way. And we all went through it!"

"Benson..." muttered Torias. "Wait a minute. Who are you?"

The old man smiled, and said an answer that raised even more questions:

"My name is Galen Tyrol. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

* * *


	17. Chapter 18: All Our Yesterdays

CHAPTER 18: All Our Yesterdays

"Tyrol?" Torias burst out. "I met you on _Galactica!_ You were younger than I was!"

"Not any more, Admiral." Tyrol said. "We've been here for forty years, maybe longer. Nicholas was only a baby then."

"But what happened?" asked Zhan. "How did you get... Here?"

"It's about time you asked. It'll save me a great deal of trouble later on." Tyrol took a deep rasping breath, and started.

_Forty years ago by our reckoning, everything was going fine, if you could call it that. _Galactica _and _Laurier_ were both on station together with Admiral Cain's battlegroup. We stayed in the system when the _Shenandoah_ left for Kobol, and prepared to sit it out._

_It was then that Leftenant-Commander Samuel Benson- yes, Admiral, the one you knew- discovered what appeared to be an inhabitable planet, shrouded in the mists of the nebula. Adama wanted to stay on station, but Benson convinced him to launch a survey team. You Terran types are a lot more curious than we are, at least that's the impression I got._ _I was to be on the survey team, so I took Cally down to the surface of the planet._

_We were on the surface when _Laurier_ called in. According to them the star would go nova in a matter of hours, and we had to get our butts in gear. Benson and I led the team to an unusual projection of rock in the middle of the rolling hills. It looked quite out of place, so we went inside it._

_I couldn't believe what we'd found. It was the Temple of Five, something my father hadstudied so long ago. We had to map every inch of the place. But our time was running out. We were trying to find the Eye Of Jupiter._

_What I couldn't figure out was that the Eye was supposed to show us the way to Earth. But we'd already found Earth! So why did the Gods leave this Eye lying around if we didn't need it?  
_

_I thought I was getting closer, as the Terran translation matrix was incredibly advanced compared to our own. Then something strange happened, like the air in the room was changing. For a second it was like going through an FTL jump, only we could feel the change as well as see it. Then the ship called and told us that the star had gone._

_We hurried back to the Raptors, and stared awestruck at the nova in the sky. Battlestars from Admiral Cain's group had already started jumping away._

_We flew up and were just being raised into the shuttlebay on _Laurier.

_Then all hell broke loose._

_The ship was caught in a massive gravity well, and we saw the _Galactica_ get sucked in. We were holding position, but even the engines of the _Laurier_ were going at full throttle to keep us in the same place. Adama... He was amazing. He deactivated the engines, but stood tall right until we hit the Eye._

_We appeared where you did, two sectors over from Earth according to your starcharts. The _Laurier_ was a tough ship, and had held together pretty well. We found the _Galactica_ in orbit of this planet._

_They had been orbiting for two days. They had caught hell from the passage, and were in no shape to jump, fight, or escape. Repairs had already commenced, but they were rigged at best._

_The XO of the _Laurier_, Benson, wouldn't shut up about the blasted wormhole. Kept muttering about some time travel thing. We didn't believe him until he picked up a broadcast from Earth. Everyone knew Earth was destroyed. But there it was, a Stanley Cup hockey game, no less. And then Benson proved that he had seen (or at least heard of) this game before by saying who scored the goals, what the time was down to the second, and who won the game before it finished. I found out that he'd used the computer to collect that data, but the computer wasn't psychic either.  
_

_We were hooked then, I'll tell you._

_Adama was mentally salivating over the possiblities. Perhaps warning the Colonies, stopping the Cylons. He didn't live long enough to see it through._

_He died of old age twenty-seven years ago, onboard the _Galactica. _He's now resting... In the graveyard to the north. I'm sorry, but... It was hard to see him go._

Tyrol paused for a moment, drying his eyes.

"What do we tell Apollo?" asked Torias. Zhan only shook her head,

"We have to tell him something."

Tyrol cleared his throat, begging their attention again. He continued:

_The Vipers from _Galactica_ were offloaded and stationed on the surface. Fuel was getting scarce with so many trips between the ships and the planet, so we were then forced to rely on the Terran shuttlecraft when the Raptors were grounded. The Vipers you see outside have enough fuel for only one hop, and that's it._

_We constructed this village, and then just tried to survive. Everyone is now on the surface. Their ancestors are here as well. This place is still way ahead of New Caprica, I think we might have done better to settle here in the first place. Damn that Baltar.  
_

_So we've been this way for forty years. Then, last year, something happened. A great fireball came through the sky, and impacted seven hundred kilometres away. Then came several squadrons of Raptors, the survivors from what had turned out to be the battlestar _Mercury._ But I think the commander can tell you about that._

Torias snapped his head around at the sound of footsteps in the doorway, to stare into the eyes of Rachel Carey, who hadn't seemed to age a day when compared with Tyrol. "Rachel!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her. "What happened?"

"The Cylons, the Dravidiiams, the Capricans, the Gemenese..." Rachel listed them off like a list of groceries. "All of them. They just layed into each other at Wolf 359."

"Gemenese?" asked Cain, who had been listening intently to the conversation. "The _Valkyrie?"_

_"_That was the lead ship. Commander Taylor?"

"Colin Taylor. Used to be one of my best pilots." said Cain. "Stinger. I installed him as commander of the Fifth Fleet. What happened?"

"The Fifth Fleet flanked the axis Cylon forces-" Rachel started.

"Cylon forces?" Tyrol exclaimed. "What were they doing?"

"That civil war they were having? We got the stronger side while the Dravidiiams got the others. They fought each other almost to mutual elimination. Anyway, the Fifth flanked the enemy Cylon forces, and got in real deep. But the Cylons shut them down with a computer bug. They tried it on us, but we were ready. Our Caprican and Gemenese allies weren't."

Cain shook her head. "Capricans and Gemenese fighting alongside one another..."

"Our Cylons actually managed to do the same to a vast majority of the Dravidiiam fleet..." Rachel continued.

"We should've thought of that before!" exclaimed Torias. "We can save Earth when they show up!"

"You're too late, Admiral," said Tyrol. "We lost contact with Earth more than a year ago. I think the battle for New Caprica is happening as we speak."

"Hang on," said Cain, making up for her previous interruption. "Let the Commander finish her story."

"The Fifth was mostly obliterated. The Caprican First was also heavily hit." Rachel shook her head. "We lost, no doubt about that. We sure made them pay for it, though. Almost three quarters of the Dravidiiam fleet was damaged, almost one quarter lost. More than we ever accomplished."

"Not that it matters anymore," Cain said bitterly. "They haven't fought yet, and won't fight for... However far back we've come."

"Speaking of which," said Torias. "Tyrol, you said something about an Eye of Jupiter. What was that?"

"I only know what my father told me, but it was something that was supposed to show us the way to Earth. At least that's how it was translated. It was never found, until we found it. I don't know any more that that."

"What do we do now?" asked Rachel. "We're stuck in the past with a fleet of Vipers on Empty and no working ships."

"_Galactica_ has no engines, and neither does _Pegasus,_" said Cain. "_Mercury_ seems to have plowed a trench in the surface of the planet, so that leaves us what?"

"I don't know how the _Laurier_ is doing." recalled Tyrol. "We towed it behind the sun and left it there."

"You mean it's still there?" Torias blinked. "Undamaged?"

"Well, I don't know about undamaged, but it held up pretty good. We left Benson and a few staff on board to study th wormhole, but we haven't heard from them."

Torias leaped to his feet. "That's our ticket outta here! We have another chance at it!"

Tyrol started laughing at the realization. "That's it! The Eye of Jupiter wasn't to show us to Earth itself, but back to when Earth was still around! The Gods knew things would get screwed up, so they left us a present..."

"So we could sort things out for ourselves!" Torias finished. "It's almost poetic. And now we have a chance to prevent things from ever happening." He turned and pointed to Zhan and Rachel. "And the first person to bring up temporal mechanics is up for a court-martial!"

**_CSS Laurier_**

Torias had to check himself from bending down and kissing the deck. He settled for patting the bulkhead.

"Should I leave you two alone?" asked Tyrol, leaning on a polished wooden cane. Nicholas Tyrol hovered close behind with Cally. Torias dropped his hand with a sheepish grin.

"AVERY!" bellowed someone down the hall.

"Sam!" Torias called back. Benson wasn't much younger than Tyrol was, and Torias was shocked to see what the years had done. Benson was still energetic as ever, and hobbled along without any support.

"Now I'm _your_ senior, Mr. Admiral!" Benson cracked. "Got that, sonny?"

"Put a sock in it. What'd you do to my ship?"

"Okay. I'll come clean. I watched all your Monty Python discs."

Torias turned to Tyrol. "That's the last time you leave this guy alone on my ship!"

Tyrol shrugged. "Sorry skipper, I thought you to were buddies."

"We are." said Torias.

"Avery, this wormhole thing threw us back in time!" said Benson, ecstatic. "The temple must have used the energy of the star to blast through space-time! Isn't that incredible!"

"Sounds like it," said a voice from the corridor.

"Commander!" Tyrol exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

"I took a Raptor from _Pegasus_ a few minutes ago. Just missed you." said Apollo, turning a corner. "You've been keeping me out of the loop, Torias. I'm coming along whther you want me or not."

"Sorry we sort of forgot you, Commander. Welcome aboard." Torias returned his attention to Benson. "So why didn't we go back as far as you did, Sam?"

"The explosion of a star isn't like a nuclear reactor. The power emenations will disipate over a certain length of time, shortening the penetration through the fabric of space-time."

"Okay, let's pretend for a second that I know nothing about time travel." suggested Apollo. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You never studied." said Torias with a straight face. Then he and Apollo burst out laughing. "Okay, okay, we got shot back in time. The sooner we went in after the nova the more power there was from the nova. The more power the more we travel. That's it."

"Okay. So we're here. Now what do we do?" asked Apollo. "We have a ship, we can go where we will."

"I have an idea." said Zhan. "This whole mess was caused by the lienaied. If there are no more lienaeids then none of this will ever have happened."

"Destroy the lienaeid in every single ship... That would solve the problem." Torias thought for a second. "Admiral Cain. She has some sort of molecular transporter. We can use that to disrupt every lienaeid-"

"Not _every_ lienaeid, surely!" Benson said.

"Every lienaeid. They've done nothing but harm ever since we found the _Hyperatis._" Torias stopped and thought for a second. "And Sam, stop calling me Shirley. Commander Adama, get Admiral Cain on the wire. Tell her to get her transporter over here asap. She can come along if she wants."

"I don't know how she'll react to that..." said Apollo.

"This ship is the only one with a working lienaeid, and she doesn't even belong in our reality, let alone have any hidden purpose. She's stuck here as much, if not more, than we are."

"So this _is_ our indigenous reality?"

"This is your reality." Benson assured Apollo. "Don't worry, Commander, your Gods have _everything_ under control."


	18. Chapter 19: The Voyage Home

* * *

CHAPTER 19: The Voyage Home

**_CSS Laurier, En Route To Polaris_**

"She's held up pretty well," Torias mused. "But couldn't you have vacuumed the carpeting a _little_ more often?"

"Back off, sonny," said Benson. "I'm a scientist."

"Scientist or not, it's a mess," said Apollo. "Frankly I don't see what's stopping you from tearing it up."

"It looks nice," said Torias. "Isn't that reason enough? Who knows, your crews might benefit from a little colour in their tour of duty."

"Hang on: you're telling me my battlestar could use some upholstry?"

"In not so many words, yes."

And that was how the trip went. While the weapons and shielding (and sublight engines, and computers, and replicators, and...) of the _Laurier_ were ahead of any similar devices the Colonials fielded, one had to admit that the jump drive was something they should really have installed. Not that there was anything wrong with space warp propulsion, it was just, well, slow. After seeing that instantaneous travel was possible (with the calculations done on more advanced Terran computers), one had to wonder...

Before leaving the planet, Cain had taken some crewmen from _Pegasus_ to supplement that of _Laurier_. With them had come the lynchpin of the operation: the transporter. The plan was for a small marine detachment to beam into each ship in turn and sabotage the lienaied with the help of Admiral Torias' command prefix codes. The computers would then allow the team to do whatever they jolly well wanted, and short of walking into a crewman they would be invisible. This was to minimize the affect on the timeline. Torias was worried that if the change to the timeline was to great, the temporal strain would break off into another alternate reality, such as the one Admiral Cain originated from.

Torias hadn't actually seen much of Apollo throughout the trip, though his wife Dualla was around. To add to the mystery, she was very distracted, and had to be asked at least twice to get anything done. Something was wrong with Lee Adama, and nobody but Dualla seemed to know what it was, and she wouldn't talk about it.

At least the crack about carpeting the _Shenandoah_ got him out his shell for a few minutes. Then he vanished again, retreating into his quarters and leaving behind a depressed bridge crew.

Torias shook his head, sitting down next to Zhan and Catherine, who was attacking a large piece of chocalate cake. One advantage of travelling aboard the _Laurier_ was that she could eat (almost) whatever she wanted, and she wasted no time in taking advantage,

"You should really ask him about what's eating him," Zhan whispered.

"What am I supposed to do about?" Torias asked rhetorically. "I'm an admiral, not a shrink. His own wife can't help him!"

"No, I'm just curious, that's all." Zhan shot him a knowing look. "And so are you."

"I can give a pretty good guess."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Well, we haven't told him that his father's died of old age..." Torias suggested.

"Oh, come on. He's not stupid. He's seen Galen and Sam and they've aged remarkably. He's probably guessed."

"...Even so I think he's more cracked up about that pilot we left on Kobol."

Zhan swirled her drink around pensively. "Were they close?"

"I could never tell. Rachel kept telling me that they argued one minute and were slapping each other on the back the next." Torias took a drink. "I wouldn't call it close, but it was stable."

"I couldn't say myself, I don't know him as well as you."

Torias opened his mouth to respond, but it was the voice of Benson on the bridge that answered. "_Admiral to the bridge. Contact."_

"Acknowledged," Torias said. "Cathy, when you're done head back to our quarters."

"mbfmb" Catherine mubled with her mouth full. Her nod replied instead.

"Okay, let's go." said Torias grabbing Zhanb's hand and leading the way into the corridor.

The ship had dropped to sublight but was powering forward on normal propulsion, clearly whatever the ship was Benson didn't believe it to be too dangerous. Torias was surprised to see Apollo at the back of the bridge.

"Okay, what've we got?" asked Torias, taking his place.

"One civilian ship with Colonial registration codes. Aeralon."

"A Colonial ship? This far out?" Torias took a closer look by lowering the viewer over his chair. "Up top scope." he then ordered, switching the viewer onto that feed.

"I'd say they ran after the attacks. They've just been trying to get away from the Cylons and ran out of fuel." said Apollo. "Looks like a freighter."

Something was strange about this freighter. The glow from a nearby planet made it hard to tell, but...

"Down top scope. ETA to Polaris?" Torias asked.

"At cruising speed, five minutes." They were close.

"Lifesigns?" Torias asked again. But the ship still... Realization hit as it passed far enough away from the planet for the hull to be detailed. "She's been attacked! Battlestations, all hands to battlestations, this is no drill!"

"The freighter is hailing... Someone else. Coded message, no- Contact! Five ships, Cylon!" It was a trap. The Cylons had clearly planned to lure Colonial vessels in close enough to launch a massive suprise attack on them, much as they had with the _Pegasus_ a few years earlier. The freighter had probably been towed here, the colonial beacons luring any curious ship in close enough, then when they entered a programmed defensive sphere it signalled the squadron lying in wait, the basestars would jump in and decimate the helpless Colonial. Unfortunately for them, _Laurier_ wasn't Colonial.

"Could be worse," Torias said, nonchalant. "Could be the Dravidiiams. Leftenenant Benson, fire torpedoes, full spread, maximum yield. Raise barriers, energize defensive grid and lock incoming targets into the targeting computers. Engage all firewalls."

The first broadside from _Laurier_ shattered the first basestar and crippled two more. Seventy-two fighters, the massed complement of the last two basestars, detached from their carriers and screamed silently at the Terran starship.

"Incoming seventy-two starfighters at 123 mark 048. Suppression fire engaged."

The computer targeted each individual fighter and blasted it with a beam of coherent light in a fraction of a second. The Cylon squadron was reduced by half, but its sheer volume allowed it to close to weapons range. Fifteen nuclear missiles blasted away.

"Benson, get the computer to focus on-" Too late.

The ship rolled over in a lateral corkscrew, shunted from the force of fifteen detonations. The gravity reoriented, allowing the crew to pick themselves up again.

"Shields holding, but drained fifty percent." reported Sharon Valerii, who entered the bridge to replace the injured helm officer. She didn't look as old as Tyrol and Benson did, but there were distinct lines on her face. "Two energy arrays are down. Minor hull damage, deck four, section seven. Damage control parties en-route."

"Good to see you, Valerii!" Torias answered. "Now target all bowchasers onto the basestar directly ahead of us!"

All the forward firing weapons cut into the hull of the Cylon ship, blasting it into two dead sections. In response, two more contacts jumped into range.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding!" Torias muttered. "Starboard batteries, take 'em out."

Another basestar was shattered, but the remaining one launched her own fighters. Two more jumped in beside the new one. That was four now.

"Four contacts!" Benson reported. "Shields at forty and holding. More damage to the weapons arrays. We can't keep this up forever!"

"We can take 'em!" Torias replied. "I think.

Torias looked over as the bridge door opened to reveal Cain. "The transporter has been hit, but we're working on it," she said. "What've we got?"

"Four Cylon baseships, a squadron of Cylon Raiders with more on the way, and our shields are at forty percent. After they fail, we have some ablative armour, but it won't last as long."

"Two more contacts!" Valerii shouted. "It's the _Galactica!"_

_"What?" _Torias exclaimed.

_**Battlestation Galactica, CIC  
**_

She may have had no engines, but her thrusters and FTL still worked enough to bring her to the aid of _Laurier._ Commander Karl Agathon knew that she wouldn't be able to maneuovre, but the _Galactica_ still possesed an impressive battery. Along for the ride was _Pegasus_, in a similar but less dire position.

Strange radio chatter from the _Laurier_ had prompted the decision to assist, especially when the Cylon ships started appearing. Even though the last few signals hadn't reached _Galactica_ yet, they had jumped right into the middle of the battle.

There was a good chance that _Galactica_ wasn't coming back.

"Evacuate decks fifteen and sixteen and channel life support to the weapons grid." he ordered. "Load torpedoes and nuclear packages, and remove the safeties." His XO, Sharon Agathon, proceeded to make the arrangements required. They had drilled for this for over forty years, and had developed into quite a well-oiled machine. But even though _Galactica_ could still hold her own, after a fashion, her Vipers had only enough fuel for half an hour. Then it was all up to the _Pegasus_ air wing.

"Deploy nuclear missiles." He would wait to the last second before launching the Vipers, that way they could stay airborne longer.

The ship shook as a salvo of Cylon missiles, all of them non-nuclear, impacted the hull. The DRADIS console then told him that _Laurier_ had crippled another basestar. Helo launched his nukes, and finished the job. Three basetars.

_Pegasus_ had launched her remaining fighters, and was doing a good job of distracting the Raiders. One of the Cylon ships was moving to intercept her, and both vessels proceeded to pound each other into submission. That left two for _Galactica_ and _Laurier._

_"_Incoming nukes!" shouted Alex Gaeta at tactical. His father was Felix Gaeta, and he had coincidentally chosen the same line of work. "Brace for impact!"

The missiles hit one of the dead engines, so no harm was done. The _Galactica_ was now drifting, nudged by the explosion. Helo picked up the phone and contacted the CAG: his daughter, Hera Agathon. "Launch them all, get them up!"

As the ship drifted the Vipers and Raptors shot out of the pods, narrowly avoiding another nuke that impacted amidships.

"The FTL's down!" Gaeta reported, trying to coordinate repairs. It was their only means of propulsion, and only means of escape. Thrusters could only redirect and steer the ship, they didn't have the power to reverse course.

Sharon looked up at Helo. "We've just got a progress report from _Laurier._ If we continue on our present course we're going to hit the planet in ten minutes."

"Commence evacuation." said Helo.

_**CSS Laurier**_

"Why don't they jump away?" Torias pleaded. "What are they doing?"

"The Raptors seem to be evacuating the ship..." Valerii said.

"Cover the evacuation!" Torias ordered. The operation was more difficult now. With _Laurier_ covering _Galactica _she couldn't maneuovre freely. Her shields were already at twenty percent, with damage to her weapons aray becoming progressively worse with each Cylon missiles. Fortunately with Radiers in the area the basestars were sticking with non-nuclear payloads.

The _Pegasus_ was neatly handling the Cylon ship, and her fighters were also covering the drifting _Galactica_. She dispatched the enemy and then started limping to _Galactica'_s aid on her three remaining engines. Only one Cylon remained between the three.

"_Pegasus _is moving to intercept the remaining contact," Benson reported.

The _Pegasus _rolled over, placing herself right in between the basestar and the stricken battlestar. _Galactica_ was five minutes from entering the atmosphere, and accelerating.

"Still a quarter of the crew left," said Valerii. "I don't think they're gonna make it."

"There are still crewmen in CIC," Benson said, incredulous. "Why don't they eject?"

"It's too late." said Torias. "There they go."

The _Galactica_ entered the atmosphere at an angle, skipping slightly over the threshold before plunging towards the surface. The hull started ablating away, chunks of melting hull and plasma trailing behind her. The remaining crew that weren't near enough to the exterior to succumb to the heat were rattled like dice in a cup, many not surviving more than a few seconds. The ship broke into two as a majority of the hull boiled away, and the ancient starship flattened everything beneath it for kilometres as it went face to face with the planet and lost. It smashed into a hillside, and was no more.

"My god," Torias mumbled. The trail of debris could still be seen, dissipating in the atmosphere.

A final broadside from the _Laurier_ finished off the remaining basestar, and Torias hoped that they'd had enough. Though the Cylons had taken horrific materiel losses they were probably resurrecting at this moment.

Not so for the crew of the _Galactica._

"Set course for Polaris, prep for silent running." ordered Torias quietly. Apollo and Cain were still staring at the viewscreen, where moments before the _Galactica _had been. "Signal _Pegasus_ to hold position here, and to pick up survivors. Admiral Cain, I believe you're needed on your ship."

"Right," she said, still in a daze. She left for the transporter room.

The _Laurier_ leaped to lightspeed five minutes later, as the _Pegasus_ recovered the Vipers and Raptors from both herself and _Galactica._

_**CSS Laurier, 2 AU from Polaris**_

"We are entering the Polaris system now." reported Valerii. "Switching to silent running. "

"Understood. Down top scope," ordered Torias. "Leftenant Benson, we're home. Right on time."

The veritable fleet surrounding Homeworld One was made up of mostly Terran starships, with the _Galactica_ and _Shenandoah_ in orbit as well. The _Shenandoah_ was still under construction, perhaps three or four weeks from launch. Around Homeworld Two orbited some smaller Terran warships, and the battlestar _Mercury _was holding station orbiting the forty-ninth parallel.

"Down top scope, ahead half, switch to passive sensors. Don't want to screw up history any more than we already have..."

"Object dead a head and closing fast! Radiological alarm, there's some kind of nuclear radiation! It's a mine!"

"Quick, raise the-"

The _Laurier_ shuddered as her starboard fore quarter was blown away in the resulting explosion.

* * *


	19. Chapter 20: Errand Of Mercy

Sorry this took so long.

* * *

CHAPTER 20: Errand Of Mercy

**_CSS Laurier_**

"Damage?" Torias asked.

"Port fore quarter is gone. Stealth functions compromised." reported Benson. "We hit a mine."

A mine? "Cylon?" asked Torias.

"I don't think so... Apollo, come over here."

Apollo looked at the readout. "It's Colonial. From the _Mercury._ Old cesium explosives, we dumped them close to the sun to dispose of them. This one must have escaped."

"Cesium is nuclear material," Benson explained. "More stable than uranium or plutonium, Less detectible, but less powerful. The Colonials used it for mines because of that.The mines were designed to cluster an enemy, multiplying the destructive power. "

"Why didn't we detect it?" asked Torias.

"The mines are very small," said Benson, sitting up stiffly in his chair, reminding Torias about his advanced age. "Normally the proximity sensors don't detect anything that big: the navigational deflector runs into those things all the time, metallic objects included. The cesium radiation _was_ detected, it was just too late to stop the ship."

"Options? With our stealth capabilities compromised, can we get within transporter range?"

"Negative. Not without being detected."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Why don't we just go in-"

"And pop down and say hi?" Benson finished for him. "I know more than a few people who would have heart attacks from that sort of thing." He pointed at Torias. "One of whom is sitting right there!"

"Guilty." said Torias. "But I'm a wee bit more resilient after past events."

"_You're_ not who I'm worried about." said Benson. "Your past self is. And besides, Apollo, have you ever heard of a temporal paradox? Casuality loop?"

Apollo just stared blankly. "I'm a pilot, not a scientist."

Benson smiled in triumph. "Oh boy, here we go again," Torias said, rolling his eyes in a dramatic way. Zhan chuckled slightly behind her hand but said nothing.

"Let's say I go back in time, and meet my very own grandfather, before he got married or had kids. Now we have an argument, and I accidentally kill him." Benson paused, looking around his captive audience with glee. Seeing no reaction, he continued. "If I kill my own grandfather, how can I be born? But if I'm never born, how can I kill my own grandfather?" His raised his eyebrows to accentuate the point.

"My gods, what would happen?" asked Apollo. "Would you both fade from existence?"

"No." Benson said. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head with a sigh. "The strain on the space-time continuum would tear and create a new timeline. Such events happen naturally, this is just an artificial way of bringing it about. It is these alternate timelines that we can travel to with the lienaeid. Anyway, back to the story: I am stuck in this new timeline, my grandfather stays dead, and the 'me' in this timeline is never born. I am a prisoner in that timeline much as Helena Cain is in ours."

"That's why we must try to complete our mission without tearing space-time." said Torias. "Otherwise we'd be doing it for nothing. We have been given one chance at this. We _can't_ screw up. Otherwise humanity dies here, in the past. They just don't know they're dead until..." He trailed off. _Until their homeworld is destroyed, a renegade Lord of Kobol released, and a Dravidiiam threat to add to the Cylon one._

"What the hell is this?" Apollo burst out. "Some half-assed debating society? If we don't act now humanity _will_ be dead. So what do we _do_ about it!?"

"We can't sit around here," said Torias.

Apollo snapped his fingers. "What about those prefix codes you said you had? You could use them to shut down the fleet!"

"The orginal plan called for low-level disruption of security circuits, not a full blown assault!" Torias shot back.

"The battlestar _Mercury_ would be unnaffected." said Benson. "It's in orbit over Homeworld Two right now. And it's got a lienaeid too."

"But she has no shields! And she'll come to defend the planet against us! She'll be in transporter range-"

"And firing on us!" Torias pointed out. "We're in no shape for a fight! Not by a longshot!"

"What happens if we succeed? Baltar never gets his hands on the lienaeid, we never find the Eye of Jupiter, and we never go back in time! We'll never have existed!"

"He's right!" Benson exclaimed. "It won't make any difference at all! We have no other choice anyway!"

"Fine!" Torias snapped. "Alright? Fine! We'll do it!" He turned to Valerii, who was listening quietly from the helm station, and activated the comm system. "Comm, transmit prefix codes on general short-range override frequency. Helm, prepare to take into orbit. Tactical, keep an eye out for _Mercury._ Transporter room, we have a thirty minute window before they power up and shuffle the prefix codes. That's half an hour. Bridge out." He deactivated the comm with his fist and then turned to Apollo. "You're boarding the _Galactica._ Good luck, commander."

**_Battlestar Galactica, CFCV-111, In Orbit Of Homeworld One_**

The air was still, as the life-support systems were on emergency batteries, only putting enough oxygen into the air to keep the crew alive. The artificial gravity was also functioning on a lower level, Apollo was having to pay extra attention to each step to prevent himself from flying down the corridor. The lights were out, but red emergency lights provided low level illumination.

Apollo signalled to his team. They should be one deck below the lienaeid control room. The next intersection would confirm it.

He stopped when they reached it, and peered at the intersection number. 14-254-I34. That meant they were on deck 14, and the lienaeid control room was on deck 15. The frame number was correct as well. Perfect.

Apollo led the team up the gangway, pausing to make sure the corridor was clear. Most of the Marine detechment was probably guarding vital areas such as Engineering and Damage Control, both Fore and Aft. The lienaeid chamber could't foreseeably be any threat to ship security. But because the ship was at Condition Two due to the power loss, it would be guarded, even if only by one guard. Poor guy.

Apollo's guess was correct. One guard was standing at the hatch (leaning against the wall beside it, actually), a paperback in one hand. Almost completely oblivious.

Apollo sank him with one charge from his pistol. He'd have a nasty headache when he woke up, but by then the job would be done.

"Charges?" Apollo asked.

"Right here," said crewman Randy Norminan. He pulled the charges out of their protective casing. Three G-5 detonators, and three grams of M-17 for each one. That should knock the mechanism for a loop. Permanently.

"Charges sealed," said Teammember 2. Norminan nodded. "Charges set."

"Apollo to _Laurier._ Team four ready for beam out. Energize."

Almost too simple.

_**Battlestar Mercury**_

"All of them?!" Rachel exclaimed. "Any power emanations?"

"Negative, skipper." said Hayes. "Fleetwide. Low-level life-support only. They're quite dead."

"Any damage?" Rachel asked.

"None. The unknown ship is firing low-level energy beams of some sort, but they're penetrating the hull, not damaging them."

Should she attack them? Could the _Mercury_ attack a ship with the power to disable an entire fleet?

"Explosion in the lienaeid compartment of the _Renown_. Unknown cause, but it looks like a chemical explosion."

That was it. Rachel had no choice under regulations. "Set intercept course. All weapons to standby. Lock target into the main computer and activate firewall countermeasures. All ahead one half."

**_CSS Laurier_**

"She there?" Apollo asked.

Torias raised the viewer. "It's the _Mercury_, no doubt about it. Sensors show her weapons are powered up."

"Should we raise shields?"

"We haven't got any," said Torias. "And even if we did, they'd interrupt the transporter beam. We'll just have to hope the ablative armour can take it."

The first shots from _Mercury _hit the hull, rocking the ship. Torias immediately started coordinating the damage control effort. They wouldn't fire back, but they could keep the ship together as long as possible. The energy could be diverted from the weapons for more useful purposes.

"How many teams do we have now?" Apollo asked as an EPS relay burst in the ceiling. A ruptured coolant pipe was shooting superheated steam into the bridge, making the air hotter and more humid with every passing second.

"Only one still hasn't reported back. The one on board _Mercury._ They're fully armed, considering _Mercury_has her intruder alert systems online. I've tried the command codes, but they've rotated them. We have no power here."

"Admiral!" Benson called. "The ablative armour has buckled. We've got hull breaches on decks three and four! Forcefields are offline, bulkheads are in place!"

"Just keep the ship together!" Torias yelled back over the slaughter. "Keep those transporter beams going! We have to get the teams out of there!"

"They must think they're weapons of some kind! Our weapons are offline, our life support is failing. We have fires on deck three. We also have a plasma leak somewhere, the air is becoming toxic!" Benson struggled to his feet. "We have to go, NOW!"

Torias slumped in his chair, watching the ship die around him. "All hands, abandon ship! I repeat, all hands abandon ship! This is no drill." Seeing the shock freeze everyone in their seat, he bellowed "Everyone get the frak out of here, move it!"

Apollo didn't need to be told twice. He had to find his wife.

He leapt into the nearest lift and descended to deck three. The air pressure had lowered, probably as a result of the hull breach. He knew his quarters were not in the affected sections. He didn't know how, he just knew it. He'd forgotten about the fire, though.

He turned out to be right, but his quarters turned out to be empty. Cursing, he flung himself down the hallway, shouted Dualla's name. He found her two sections over, directing evacuation. She abandoned this when she saw that the escape pod was full, and rushed towards him.

"We have to get to the next deck!" he said. "This way!"

Their way was blocked by a plasma fire between them and the lift. "It was probably out anyway," Apollo muttered. Dualla didn't hear him. She was breathing hard, the smoke filling the air was growing thicker.

Too many ways were blocked by bulkheads or fires. The ship was coming apart around them. They simply ran out of energy as the smoke blanketed the ceiling.

"This is it," Dualla coughed, clutching him. "We've failed."

"How do you know that?" Apollo asked sternly. "We haven't heard anything from the team. They could call back any second."

"And what?! Find a burning starship that can't save them?" She coughed violently. "What's that noise? Is that your communicator?"

"What'd I tell you?" Apollo said, laughing. "It's the team calling back. The final lienaeid has been destroyed." He was silent as the realization hit him. "We did it..."

Dualla smiled weakly. "Too bad we won't be around to see the future."

"I know." Apollo concurred. Meaning he would never see Kara again.The minute that thought crossed his mind, and he looked into the pleading eyes of his wife, he felt an intense pang of guilt. Even here, at the end of all things, he was conflicted. He would now never know stability.

"Dee... I... I love you..." he finally said. Better she never knew how he really felt, he couldn't bear to tell her that. Not after all this.

Dualla opened her mouth to reply, but that moment the atomic reactor went critical, and blew the _Laurier_ to millions of pieces, orbiting Homeworld One. The effects of the timeline, corrected and irrevocably changed by the desturction of the last lienaeid, then caught up to them. The debris, the escape pods, and almost all traces of the ship vanished from existence...

* * *

EPILOGUE: What You Leave Behind...

_**Delphi, Homeworld Two**_

Karl Agathon sat with the phone pressed against his ear, waiting to be connected again. The bright sunlight outside creeped around the blind pulled over the window, basking his disorginized office in an artificial twilight. His left leg was asleep, but he was afraid to move it in view of the stack of books tottering next to him.

_"Please wait. Your call is important to us."_ said the computer at the other end.

"Just shut up and connect me," he snarled, though he knew no one would hear him. The stack of books teetered on the edge.

"Hera!" Sharon shouted from the kitchen. "Someone's at the door, answer it, will you?"

It was probably Nicholas Tyrol again. The two had been dating exclusively for almost two months now, and it showed no signs of stopping. Not that he had any problem with that. He was just happy he was living in a place where a half-Cylon teenager could live a normal life. Her marks in school had been high enough to enter a gifted program.

"_Hello?"_ asked another voice on the line. About time, too.

"Hi, my name is Karl Agathon. My dishwasher was recalled because of a faulty part, but you shipped the wrong replacement. I still haven't heard anything back from you yet about the second one I ordered."

"_Sorry, Mr. Agathon, I'm not responsible for shipping and handling. I'll just switch you over to that department."_

"But _they_ switched me over to _you!"_ Helo said, exasperated. "I'll try again later." He waited until the line was dead, then slammed his own reciever down for good effect.

"Trouble?" Sharon asked, walking into the room and opening the blinds. Helo screwed his eyes shut, but soon adapted to the change.

"The damn company kept switching me over again and again." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Some things never change."

"You really should clean that desk up," Sharon said. "I'm surprised you found the order form at all."

"It's _my_ desk, alright?" Helo got up and walked into the kitchen. "Who was it?" he said, hearing the crash as the books finally gave up the ghost and collapsed to the floor.

Sharon didn't bat an eyelid. "Someone who wants to see you." It wasn't Nick then.

Helo walked into the living room and stopped. He was staring at a living, splitting image of Admiral Helena Cain, reclining in a leather armchair.

"I can understand your surprise," she said, her voice identical to the dead admiral in tone, but not authority. "According to you, I'm dead."

Helo had half a mind to say _"Is this how you always greet people?"_ , but taking into account who it seemed to be, all he could gasp was "Who are you?"

"Helena Cain. I used to be an Admiral with the Gemenese Defence Force, on the basestar _Pegasus._ I am not the Admiral Cain you think I am."

Helo slumped in an armchair, taking a glance at Hera. She was just as confused, having heard stories from Helo about Helena Cain from both Helo and Nick's father. This Cain claimed to be... different. But what was to say she wasn't a Cylon too?

"I am from what you would call a parallel universe. Somehow that protected me from the changes in the timeline." Pretty sophisticated, even for a Cylon.

Helo just stared blankly. "What are you talking about?" he asked, urging her to continue. Her cover story (if she was a Cylon) was probably solid, but still...

"Why don't you just ask Admiral Torias, or Admiral Lee Adama? I've already talked to them." A shadow of a smile appeared on her visage. "They were quite surprised to find me talking openly about a dream they only _thought_ they had... You as well, Commander Agathon, of the battlestation _Galactica._"

"How could... How could you possibly know that?" Helo exclaimed. "I thought I was just imagining things." Okay, so she wasn't a Cylon.

"It would seem like a dream to you... Benson started blabbing about some kind of ansible connection, and transfer of conciousness. I won't bore you with that. Let me just say that I have heard what happened to you and Sharon aboard the _Pegasus_ many years ago. And though I'm not that Cain, I would still like to apologize for whatever might have happened as a result."

"But... What will you do?"

"Torias always needs more officers," Cain said. "If I change my name, I can join your new society. Because of the loss of all the lienaeids, I'm trapped here along with my ship. So I'll live here, or on the other planet for the rest of my life."

"Tell me what happened... After my dream..." Helo leaned forward rapturously, focusing on Cain.

"After the alternate _Galactica_ had been destroyed, I returned to the damaged _Pegasus_ to command the rescue operation while Torias proceeded to Polaris. The rescue operation went without a hitch, with us recovering all the Raptors and escape pods. It was about at that time when Torias succeeded doing whatever he did. The Raptors, the survivors, all had disappeared. But myself, my crew, and the _Pegasus_ still remained. Somehow being from another timeline protected me and everything else not indigenous to this reality safe.

"Our FTL had been knocked out in the battle, and we only had three engines. We weren't that far from Polaris, so I ordered us to proceed there on normal power until the FTL was fixed. But then the Tylium reactor failed, leaving us adrift. I had no choice but to abandon ship.

"It took us many jumps in the Raptors to ferry the entire crew here, but we managed, and I was the last one off the ship. I collected all my personal belongings, and left her adrift. She's still out there, you know. Torias is getting a salvage mission together. But after that, I just went around, until I ended up here."

She rose from her seat and walked for the door.

"Wait," Helo said. "It _was_ only a dream, wasn't it? I didn't destroy the _Galactica?_"

"I don't know," said Cain. "Scientifically, it never happened." She stepped over the threshold into the sunlight outside. "But I remember differently."

Helo just stood, leaning against the doorframe. He watched Admiral Cain until she disappeared around the street corner. His jumbled thoughts were interrupted by Hera and Sharon, calling him to help wash dishes. He shook his head trying to forget about the incident, and closed the front door, returning to his family.

He should really get that dishwasher fixed.

* * *

**Appendix: Fifteen Years Later **

**William Adama:** _Retired from the service and moved north to Troy. Married Laura Adama née Roslin two years later._

**Lee Adama:** _Promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Colonial Branch of the Polaris Defense Force. Currently serving aboard the battlestar _Shenandoah.

**Tom Zarek: **_President of the Twelve Colonies for two terms, oversaw the Unification._

**Laura Adama (Roslin): **_Elementary school teacher in Troy, Homeworld Two. Married to William Adama.  
_

**Karl C. Agathon:**_ Promoted to XO of the battlestar _Mercury.

**Sharon Agathon: **_Colonial intelligence analyst, Delphi, Homeworld Two. Known for her influential book "I, Cylon."_

**Galen Tyrol: **_Deck chief of battlestar _Shenandoah. _Promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade._

**Cally Henderson Tyrol: **_Dentist in Delphi, Homeworld Two._

**Sharon Valerii: **_Bridge crew aboard HMASS _Renown. _Promoted to Leftenant Commander. Married to Samuel Benson.  
_

**Anastasia Dualla: **_Promoted to Commander of the HMSS _Voltaic.

**Saul Tigh**: _Manager of The Red Eye, a pub in Troy, Homeworld Two, along with his wife Ellen Tigh. Retired shortly after William Adama._

**Kara Thrace: **_Flight Instructor at the Royal Military College, Aphrika City, Homeworld One._

**Samuel Anders: **_Pyramid player, traded to Aphrika City on request in order to be with Kara Thrace._

**Hera Agathon: **_Attending Glenn Dawson Secondary School in Delphi, Homeworld Two. _

**Nicholas Tyrol: **_Attending Glenn Dawson Secondary School in Delphi, Homeworld Two._

**Felix Gaeta: **_Hired by tech firm Enwright, currently sits on the Board. Married to Maria Candace._

**Aaron Kelly: **_Promoted to Colonel, appointed XO of the CSS _Cyclone._  
_

**Gaius Baltar:** _Exiled to Cylon Empire. Currently researching at an undisclosed Cylon research station. Married to Caprica Six.  
_

**Caprica Six: **_Residing at an undisclosed Cylon research outpost. Married to Gaius Baltar._

**Avery Torias: **_Admiral, in command of all military forces in and around Polaris. Stationed aboard flagship CSS _Laurier.

**Ruiwan Zhan:**_ Executive officer aboard CSS _Laurier.

**Catherine Torias: **_Enrolled in the Royal Military College, Aphrika City, Homeworld One._

**Samuel Benson: **_Promoted to Commander, HMASS _Renown. _Married to Sharon Valerii._

**Rachel Carey: **_Commander, Battlestar _Mercury.

**Helena Cain: **_Installed with the honourary rank of Commander aboard the renovated Battlestar _Pegasus II, _under the name Madelyn Wellesley._


End file.
